Assemblies and methods for material extraction

ABSTRACT

Assemblies and method to extract a material from a source of the material may include a vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly to enhance extraction the material from the source of the material. The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly may include a vacuum source including a plurality of vacuum generators. Each of the plurality of vacuum generators may be positioned to cause a vacuum flow between the source of the material and the vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly. The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly may further include a sound attenuation chamber connected to the vacuum source. The sound attenuation chamber may include an attenuation housing at least partially defining a chamber interior volume being positioned to receive at least a portion of the vacuum flow from the vacuum source and attenuate sound generated by the vacuum source.

PRIORITY CLAIMS

This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority to and thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/367,570, filed Jul. 1,2022, titled “HIGH VOLUME INDUSTRIAL VACUUM ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS,”U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/367,219, filed Jun. 29, 2022, titled“RECEIVER, ASSEMBLIES, AND METHODS FOR LOADING AND EXTRACTING PRODUCT INELEVATED TOWER,” U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/367,218, filed Jun.29, 2022, titled “ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS FOR MATERIAL EXTRACTION FROMRETENTION COLLECTIONS,” U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/364,630,filed May 13, 2022, titled “ASSEMBLIES, APPARATUSES, SYSTEMS, ANDMETHODS FOR MATERIAL EXTRACTION AND CONVEYANCE,” U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 63/264,101, filed Nov. 16, 2021, titled “ASSEMBLIES ANDMETHODS FOR MATERIAL EXTRACTION,” U.S. Provisional Application No.63/264,015, filed Nov. 12, 2021, titled “ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS FORMATERIAL EXTRACTION,” U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/203,147, filedJul. 9, 2021, titled “SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR INDUSTRIAL TOWERWASTE EXTRACTION,” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/203,108,filed Jul. 8, 2021, titled “SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR INDUSTRIALTOWER WASTE EXTRACTION,” the disclosures of all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to assemblies and methods for extractingmaterial from a source of the material and, more particularly, toassemblies and methods for extracting material from environmentsproviding sources for the material.

BACKGROUND

Certain environments, such as, for example, work sites, industrialsites, commercial sites, residential sites, or natural sites, may oftenbe sources of material that is either deposited or accumulates as aresult of operations at the site or through natural accumulation. Thedeposit or accumulation of the material may be undesirable for a numberof reasons, and thus, removal of the material from the site may bedesirable or necessary. For example, the presence of the material insufficient quantities may hinder operations at the site, may present anundesirable environmental condition, and/or may present recycling orremediation opportunities. Traditional approaches to removal of thematerial from the site may be unsatisfactory or suffer from drawbacksfor various reasons. For example, the material may take a variety offorms (e.g., liquids, solids, emulsions, particulates, etc.) and/or maybe located or positioned, such that it is difficult to extract andremove from the site, and/or traditional methods may be impracticable,inefficient, unduly time consuming, and/or labor intensive.

Accordingly, Applicant has recognized a desire to provide improvedassemblies and methods for extracting material from a source of thematerial, including a variety of different materials from a variety ofdifferent environments, that may be more practicable, more efficient,less time consuming, and/or less labor intensive. The present disclosuremay address one or more of the above-referenced drawbacks, as well asother possible drawbacks.

SUMMARY

As referenced above, it may be desirable to provide improved assembliesand methods for extracting material from a source of the material,including a variety of different materials from a variety of differentenvironments, that may be more practicable, more efficient, less timeconsuming, and/or less labor intensive. For example, the intentionalgeneration or production of some materials for desired intermediate orfinal products may result in the deposit or accumulation of by-productmaterials that need to be removed from the environment in which thedesired products are generated or produced. In some embodiments, theassemblies and methods may provide efficient extraction of the materialto be removed from various environments, such as, for example, worksites, industrial sites, commercial sites, residential sites, naturalsites, etc. For example, in some embodiments, the material may beextracted in a substantially continuous manner and/or may be extractedwithout significant contamination of the ambient environment with thematerial or portions thereof.

In some embodiments, a vacuum generation and sound attenuation assemblyto enhance extraction of material from a source of the material, mayinclude a vacuum source including a plurality of vacuum generators. Eachof the plurality of vacuum generators may be positioned to cause avacuum flow between the source of the material and the vacuum generationand sound attenuation assembly. The vacuum generation and soundattenuation assembly may further include a sound attenuation chamberconnected to the vacuum source. The sound attenuation chamber mayinclude an attenuation housing at least partially defining a chamberinterior volume being positioned to receive at least a portion of thevacuum flow from the vacuum source and attenuate sound generated by thevacuum source.

In some embodiments, a material extraction assembly to enhanceextraction of material from a source of the material, may include amanifold connected to the source of the material and positioned toprovide a flow path to convey extracted material from the source of thematerial. The material extraction assembly further may include amaterial collector connected to the manifold and having an interiorcollector volume positioned for receipt of at least a portion of theextracted material. The material extraction assembly also may include avacuum source including a plurality of vacuum generators. Each of theplurality of vacuum generators may be positioned to cause a vacuum flowbetween the source of the material and the material collector. Thematerial extraction assembly further may include a sound attenuationchamber connected to the vacuum source. The sound attenuation chambermay include an attenuation housing at least partially defining a chamberinterior volume positioned to receive at least a portion of the vacuumflow from the vacuum source and attenuate sound generated by the vacuumsource.

In some embodiments, a method for extracting material from a source ofthe material may include supplying a pressurized fluid to a plurality ofvacuum generators, and generating, using the pressurized fluid, a vacuumflow. The method further may include associating a manifold with thesource of the material. The manifold may provide a flow path for thevacuum flow. The method also may include extracting material from thematerial source via the vacuum flow through the manifold to a materialcollector through which the vacuum flow passes, depositing at least aportion of the extracted material in the material collector. The methodfurther may include passing the vacuum flow into a sound attenuationchamber to reduce a sound level generated by one or more of the vacuumflow or generating the vacuum flow.

Still other aspects and advantages of these exemplary embodiments andother embodiments, are discussed in detail herein. Moreover, it is to beunderstood that both the foregoing information and the followingdetailed description provide merely illustrative examples of variousaspects and embodiments, and are intended to provide an overview orframework for understanding the nature and character of the claimedaspects and embodiments. Accordingly, these and other objects, alongwith advantages and features of the present disclosure, will becomeapparent through reference to the following description and theaccompanying drawings. Furthermore, it is to be understood that thefeatures of the various embodiments described herein are not mutuallyexclusive and may exist in various combinations and permutations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrateembodiments of the present disclosure, and together with the detaileddescription, serve to explain principles of the embodiments discussedherein. No attempt is made to show structural details of this disclosurein more detail than can be necessary for a fundamental understanding ofthe embodiments discussed herein and the various ways in which they maybe practiced. According to common practice, the various features of thedrawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale. Dimensionsof various features and elements in the drawings may be expanded orreduced to more clearly illustrate embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an example material extractionassembly including an example vacuum generation and sound attenuationassembly, including detailed end views of an example vacuum source andan example sound attenuation chamber of the vacuum generation and soundattenuation assembly, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of extraction ofmaterial from an example source of the material in the form of areaction vessel using an example material extraction assembly, accordingto embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating another example ofextraction of material from an example source of the material in theform of a reaction vessel using an example material extraction assembly,according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an example material collectorincluding an example vacuum box for a material extraction system,according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side section view of an example materialcollector, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic end section view of an example material collector,according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example architecture for operating pointdetermination for a material collector of a material extractionassembly, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7A is a schematic side view of an example material collector and anexample carrier for transportation and/or orientation of the materialcollector, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7B is a schematic end view of the example material collector andexample carrier shown in FIG. 7A, according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 8A is schematic side view of an example vacuum generation and soundattenuation assembly, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8B is a schematic top view of the example vacuum generation andsound attenuation assembly shown in FIG. 8A, according to embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an example vacuum generator, according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10A is a schematic end view of an example vacuum generation andsound attenuation assembly showing an example vacuum source end,according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10B is a schematic partial side view of the example vacuumgeneration and sound attenuation assembly shown in FIG. 10A, showing aside view of the example vacuum source end, according to embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 10C is a schematic partial top view of the example vacuumgeneration and sound attenuation assembly shown in FIG. 10A, showing atop view of the example vacuum source end, according to embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 10D is a schematic end view of the example vacuum generation andsound attenuation assembly shown in FIG. 10A, showing the example vacuumsource end including an example housing at least partially enclosing thevacuum source, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10E is a schematic end view of the example vacuum generation andsound attenuation assembly shown in FIG. 10A, showing an example soundattenuation chamber end, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10F is a schematic top view of the example vacuum generation andsound attenuation assembly shown in FIG. 10A, according to embodimentsof the disclosure.

FIG. 10G is a schematic first side view of the example vacuum generationand sound attenuation assembly shown in FIG. 10A, according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10H is a schematic second side view, opposite the first side, ofthe example vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly shown inFIG. 10A, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of an example vacuum generationand sound attenuation assembly, showing an example sound attenuationchamber end, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a schematic top perspective view of an example vacuumgeneration and sound attenuation assembly, with example filter mediavisible, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a simplified schematic end section view of an example soundattenuation chamber, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example architecture for operating anexample sound attenuation chamber of an example material extractionassembly, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a schematic top view of example components of an examplematerial extraction assembly, according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 16 is a schematic side view of an example receiver for conveyanceof material into an example reaction vessel, according to embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an example supervisory controllers forcoordinating substantially continuous material extraction by an examplematerial extraction assembly, according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 18A is a block diagram of an example method for extracting materialfrom a source of the material, according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 18B is a continuation of the block diagram shown in FIG. 18A,according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 18C is a continuation of the block diagram shown in FIGS. 18A and18B, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 18D is a continuation of the block diagram shown in FIGS. 18A, 18B,and 18C, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of an example material extractioncontroller configured to at least partially control a materialextraction assembly, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The drawings include like numerals to indicate like parts throughout theseveral views, the following description is provided as an enablingteaching of exemplary embodiments, and those skilled in the relevant artwill recognize that many changes may be made to the embodimentsdescribed. It also will be apparent that some of the desired benefits ofthe embodiments described may be obtained by selecting some of thefeatures of the embodiments without utilizing other features.Accordingly, those skilled in the art will recognize that manymodifications and adaptations to the embodiments described are possibleand may even be desirable in certain circumstances. Thus, the followingdescription is provided as illustrative of the principles of theembodiments and not in limitation thereof.

The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. As used herein, theterm “plurality” refers to two or more items or components. The terms“comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” and“involving,” whether in the written description or the claims and thelike, are open-ended terms, in particular, to mean “including but notlimited to,” unless otherwise stated. Thus, the use of such terms ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter, and equivalents thereof,as well as additional items. The transitional phrases “consisting of”and “consisting essentially of,” are closed or semi-closed transitionalphrases, respectively, with respect to any claims. Use of ordinal termssuch as “first,” “second,” “third,” and the like in the claims to modifya claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, ororder of one claim element over another or the temporal order in whichacts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels todistinguish one claim element having a certain name from another elementhaving a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguishclaim elements.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an example material extractionassembly 10 including an example vacuum generation and sound attenuationassembly 12, according to embodiments of the disclosure. The examplematerial extraction assembly 10 may be configured to extract materialfrom a source of the material. For example, the material extractionassembly 10, in at least some embodiments, may be used for extraction ofa variety of different materials from a variety of differentenvironments. For example, the intentional generation or production ofsome materials for desired intermediate or final products may result inthe deposit or accumulation of by-product materials that need to beremoved from the environment in which the desired products are generatedor produced. In some embodiments, the assemblies and methods may provideefficient extraction of the material to be removed from variousenvironments, such as, for example, work sites, industrial sites,commercial sites, residential sites, natural sites, etc. The industrialsite may include, for example, chemical reaction towers (or other typesof reaction vessels) in which chemical reactions are performed to obtaindesirable products. Waste material may be generated as a byproduct fromthe chemical reactions.

For example, some types of chemical reactions may utilize a catalystmaterial to mediate the chemical reactions, for example, by causing thereaction to occur and/or increasing/decreasing a rate at which thereaction occurs, etc. In a chemical reaction tower (see, e.g., FIG. 1 ),the catalyst material may be loaded into the chemical tower at varioustower levels. Other materials, such as, for example, gasses, liquids,etc., may thereafter be introduced into the tower. The presence of thecatalyst material may cause, mediate, or otherwise facilitate a desiredchemical reaction to generate a desired product. The chemical reactionmay cause the reactivity, morphology, or other properties of thecatalyst material to change, thereby reducing the ability of thecatalyst to perform its function. For example, the catalyst may be usedup or otherwise render its presence in the chemical tower undesirable.

The chemical reaction may also interact with the materials out of whichthe chemical reaction tower is formed. For example, some chemicalreaction towers may be formed from concrete and steel. Chemical reactiontowers may be formed from any number and types of materials. Thecatalyst or the other materials in the chemical reaction tower may reactor otherwise interact with these materials of the chemical reactiontower, forming additional undesired products, which may be referred toas “tower products.”

The undesired reaction products and/or the tower products, which may bereferred to as “waste material,” may move within the chemical reactiontower. For example, some of this material may partially or completelycover the catalyst or other important features of the chemical reactiontower, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the catalyst, for example,even in cases where the catalyst is not depleted but remains active.

The presence of the depleted catalyst material, catalyst covered inwaste material, and/or the waste material itself, may impair futurefunctioning of the chemical reaction tower. For example, the presence ofthis material in the chemical reaction tower may reduce the conversionefficiency (e.g., the quantity of desirable products produced versus thequantity of input products) of the chemical reactions, increase areaction time, may render the chemical reactions more difficult tocontrol (or prevent them from occurring), and/or may otherwise reducethe ability of the chemical reaction tower to perform its intendedfunction.

Embodiments disclosed herein may relate to assemblies and methods forextracting material from a source of the materials, such as, forexample, removing undesired material from environments, such as, forexample, industrial environments. For example, some embodimentsdisclosed herein may facilitate extraction of undesired materials froman industrial environment using, for example, a high-pressure vacuumflow. Removing undesired material from an industrial environment using ahigh-pressure vacuum flow may provide for time efficient removal of theundesired materials and/or may reduce or prevent contamination of theambient environment with the undesired material or portions thereof.

Industrial environments, chemical reaction towers, and the associatedmaterial are merely examples, and other types of environments and/orother types of materials are contemplated.

FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B schematically depict example material sources thatare example reaction vessels 14. Reaction vessels 14 may generatedesirable products by reacting multiple materials with each other. Oncea desirable product is generated, the reaction vessel 14 may becontaminated with the presence of material, which may include undesiredmaterial 16. Applicant has recognized that the undesired material 16 maybe distributed throughout the reaction vessel 14, that reaction vessel14 may be tall, and that the reaction vessel 14 may provide limitedaccess to the location or locations of the undesired material 16. Forexample, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the reaction vessel 14 may includea plurality of zones 18 and 20, which may include the presence of theundesired material 16. The plurality of zones 18 and 20 may be locatedin different regions of the reaction vessel 14, may be separated bydifferent floors, levels, or support members 22, such as, for example,platforms, beams, etc., of the reaction vessel 14. This may render itdifficult to access the undesired material 16 for removal from thereaction vessel 14. In some instances, different zones of reactionvessel 14 may only be accessible using a ladder, scaffolding, or othertypes of elevated support structures that may render access to the zoneschallenging.

As schematically depicted in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, the materialextraction assembly 10 and related methods, according to at least someembodiments, may facilitate extraction of material such as the undesiredmaterial 16 from the source of the material, such as the reaction vessel14, using one or more high-pressure vacuum flows. The use ofhigh-pressure vacuum flows may facilitate extraction of the undesiredmaterial 16 (and/or other material), for example, in situations in whichthere is limited physical access to the plurality of zones 18 and 20,where the undesired material 16 may be present. The use of high-pressurevacuum flows may facilitate parallel removal of the undesired material16 from multiple locations within the source of the material, such asthe reaction vessel 14.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the reaction vessel 14 may include aplurality of reaction vessel ports 24, which may provide only limitedaccess to the plurality of zones 18 and 20 from exterior the reactionvessel 14. For example, the reaction vessel ports 24 may be relativelysmall, such that it may be difficult or impossible for a person to enterthe interior of the reaction vessel 14 through the reaction vessel ports24, or such that it may be difficult or impossible to pass conventionaltools, such as shovels or material transportation carts, through thereaction vessel ports 24.

In some embodiments, the material extraction assembly 10 may beconfigured to efficiently extract the undesired material 16 through thereaction vessel ports 24, for example, by generating a high-pressurevacuum flow and associating the high-pressure vacuum flow to externalportions of respective reaction vessel ports 24. In some embodiments,the high-pressure vacuum flow may generate suction directed out of theinterior of reaction vessel 14 through the respective reaction vesselports 24. The suction may generate a vacuum induced vacuum flow 26 withat least a portion of the undesired material 16 entrained in the vacuuminduced vacuum flow 26.

Depending on, for example, the distribution of the undesired material16, various fixtures may be attached to the reaction vessel ports 24 tocontrol application of suction to the undesired material 16. In someembodiments, conduits, such as hoses or other fluid flow directingcarriers may be pneumatically connected to one or more of the reactionvessel ports 24, for example, inside of the reaction vessel 14. Theconduits may be positioned such that the vacuum flow 26 entrains desiredquantities of the undesired material 16 in the vacuum flow 26. Exteriorportions of the reaction vessel ports 24 may be connected to othercomponents of the material extraction assembly 10, for example, to applythe high-pressure vacuum and/or process undesired material 16 entrainedin the vacuum flow 26.

In some instances, at least a portion of zones of the reaction vessel 14may not be reasonably accessible via one or more of the reaction vesselports 24, and some undesired material 16 may be present in such zones.As shown in FIG. 2B, in some embodiments, the reaction vessel 14 mayinclude one or more substantially sealed zones 28. Such sealed zones 28may not be readily accessible via one or more of the reaction vesselports 24 or other structures through which fluid flow paths may beestablished from the interior of the reaction vessel 14 to outside thereaction vessel 14. As shown in FIG. 2B, in some embodiments, to removeundesired material 16 from a sealed zone 28, a temporary access port 30may be formed in the reaction vessel 14. The temporary access port 30may be drilled or cut through the shell of the reaction vessel 14 tofacilitate access to the sealed zone 28 from outside the reaction vessel14. The temporary access port 30 may facilitate access to the sealedzone 28 from outside of reaction vessel 14.

In some embodiments, to remove undesired material 16 from a sealed zone28, an access device 32 may be inserted into the interior of reactionvessel 14 through the temporary access port 30. For example, the accessdevice 32 may include a physical structure forming a flow path from theinterior of the reaction vessel 14 to exterior the reaction vessel 14.The access device 32 may include, for example, a conduit, such as one ormore tubular members, hoses, manifolds, and/or other fluid conveyingstructures. A portion of the access device 32 exterior the reactionvessel 14 may be attached to a conduit 34 (e.g., a hose) to form a flowpath from the sealed zone 28 to other components of the materialextraction assembly 10. When attached to other components of thematerial extraction system 10, the access device 32 may apply suctionproximate to the undesired material 16 in the sealed zone 28 to entrainit in a fluid flow (e.g., in the vacuum flow 26) into the access device32. The fluid flow into the access device 32 may follow the flow path toother components of the material extraction assembly 10, therebyextracting undesired material 16 from sealed zone 28.

Applicant has recognized that the undesired material may present acontamination threat to areas near reaction vessels. The undesiredmaterial 16 may include significant quantities of small particles thatmay be difficult to control. In some embodiments, the materialextraction assembly 10 may facilitate extraction of undesired materialwith an at least partially sealed system. For example, the at leastpartially sealed system may be configured to transfer the undesiredmaterial from the reaction vessel 14 using a substantially sealed fluidflow path having a limited number of potential exit points. In someembodiments, the flow path may be filtered prior to exiting the flowpath to limit or prevent discharge of particulate forms of the undesiredmaterial from at least some embodiments of the material extractionassembly 10.

Applicant has recognized that the undesired material 16 may beheterogeneous in nature and/or may include material that ranges in sizefrom particulates to one or more inches in size. The undesired material16 may also be in various states of matter. For example, some portionsof the undesired material 16 may be solid, and other portions may beliquid or semi-liquid. Conventional approaches to material removal maybe unable to effectively process heterogeneous undesired materials. Insome embodiments, the material extraction assembly 10 may facilitateextraction of heterogeneous undesired material, for example, using thehigh-pressure vacuum flow 26. In some embodiments, the high-pressurevacuum flow 26 may be capable of moving a broad range of materials invarious states of matter. The use of a high-pressure vacuum flow 26 formaterial extraction may facilitate substantial containment of removedundesired material 16, thereby limiting or preventing release into orcontamination of the ambient environment with portion of the extractedundesired material 16.

The example material extraction assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1 may be usedto extract undesired material 16 from various environments. Whiledescribed with respect to an industrial environment, at least someembodiments may be used to remove undesired material 16 from otherenvironments, including, for example, commercial, residential, andnatural environments.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the example material extraction system 10 may use ahigh-pressure vacuum flow 12 to extract materials from an industrialenvironment. For example, the high-pressure vacuum flow 26 may move theundesired material 16 along a flow path to separate it from theindustrial environment. Once separated from the industrial environment,in some embodiments, the undesired material 16 may be transported to asite remote from the industrial environment, for example, for disposal,recycling, and/or remediation. In some embodiments, for example, asshown in FIG. 1 , the material extraction assembly 10 may include amaterial collector 36, a vacuum source 38, a sound attenuating chamber40 connected to the vacuum source 38, and a fluid source 42 configuredto provide pressurized fluid to the vacuum source 38. In someembodiments, one or more of the material collector 36, the vacuum source38, the sound attenuation chamber 40, or the fluid source 42 may beconfigured to be easily transported between geographical locations foruse at different environments, for example, by being supported on one ormore trailers including wheels, tracks, skids, or other devices forfacilitating movement between geographical locations.

In some embodiments, one or more of the material collector 36, thevacuum source 38, or the sound attenuation chamber 40 may be arranged toform a flow path beginning at the source of the material (e.g., at thereaction vessel 14) and terminating at the sound attenuation chamber 40.The flow path may be used to extract undesired material 16 from thereaction vessel 14 and, in some embodiments, limit contamination of theambient environment. For example, the vacuum source 38 may generate avacuum in the flow path, thereby generating a fluid flow along the flowpath. The fluid flow may be used to apply suction proximate theundesired material 16 in the reaction vessel 14 to draw the undesiredmaterial 16 into the flow path. The fluid flow in the flow path maycause the undesired material 16 to flow out of reaction vessel 14 andinto material collector 36, thereby separating at least a portion of theundesired material 16 from the environment. In some embodiments, a majorportion of the undesired material 16 may be deposited in the materialcollector 36. In some embodiments, a minor portion of the undesiredmaterial 16 may flow from the material collector 36, through the vacuumsource 38, and into the sound attenuation chamber 40. In someembodiments, the sound attenuation chamber 40 may be configured toremove (or reduce) the minor portion of the undesired material 16 in thefluid flow prior to the fluid flow being exhausted into the ambientenvironment.

In some embodiments, to form the flow path, the material collector 36may be pneumatically connected to the source of the undesired material(e.g., the reaction vessel 14). In some embodiments, the pneumaticconnection between reaction vessel 14 may be formed using a manifold 44.The manifold 44 may be connected to multiple reaction vessel ports 24 ofthe reaction vessel 14, thereby pneumatically connecting the materialcollector 36 to multiple locations of the reaction vessel 14. Forexample, the interior of the material collector 36 may be pneumaticallyconnected to the reaction vessel 14. Pneumatically connecting thematerial collector 36 to multiple locations of reaction vessel 14 mayfacilitate extraction of undesired material 16 from each of thelocations, for example, concurrently, simultaneously, sequentially, inparallel, etc.

Some reaction vessels 14 may be tall. Due to the height of some reactionvessels 14 and the distribution of the zones along the height, it may bechallenging to access one or more of the zones of the reaction vessel14. In some embodiments, the manifold 44 may include relatively rigidpiping (e.g., poly pipe). The piping may render the manifold 44 at leastpartially self-supporting, which may facilitate pneumatic connection ofthe manifold 44 to multiple zones of the reaction vessel 14. Themanifold 44, in some embodiments, may pneumatically connect the materialcollector 36 to any number of locations on the reaction vessel 14, forexample, such as those that are difficult to reach or access. The pipingmay be of low weight and/or easily attachable to a wide variety ofstructures, which may reduce the need for significant in-person accessto difficult-to-reach locations on/in the reaction vessel 14 to extractundesired material 16.

In some embodiments, the manifold 44 may be pneumatically connected tothe material collector 36, for example, via a conduit 46, such as ahose. In some embodiments, the conduit 46 may be flexible to allow forpneumatic connection of the manifold 44 and the material collector 36 invarious orientations and positions with respect to one another. Theconduit 46 may be sized so as not to limit the flow of fluid along theflow path.

In some instances, the undesired material 16 in the reaction vessel 14may present a clogging potential. For example, the undesired material 16may include relatively large components that may tend to wedge or catchon structures through which the undesired material 16 is drawn. In someembodiments, the conduit 46 may be, at least in part, transparent,translucent, and/or capable of providing an indication of the contentspassing through the conduit 46, which may be usable to detect and/ordiagnose whether the conduit 46 is clogging. As noted herein, theundesired material 16 may be heterogeneous and may include relativelylarge components that may tend to clog narrow passages (e.g.,constrictions in the conduit 46). To reduce the risk of clogging, insome embodiments, the conduit 46 may include, at least in part, a smoothinner surface, such as may be present in poly pipe. A smooth innersurface may reduce the risk of, or prevent, clogging of the conduit 46.

Although the example manifold 44 is shown in FIG. 1 as only beingpneumatically connected to one material collector 36, in someembodiments, the manifold 44 may be connected to multiple materialcollectors. In some embodiments, the multiple material collectors may beconnected in parallel to, for example, scale-up the extraction capacityof the material extraction assembly 10, for example, by increasing thepressure of the high-pressure vacuum flow, etc., for example, as shownin FIG. 15 .

In some embodiments, the undesired material 16 may flow into thematerial collector 36 after flowing through the manifold 44. A majorportion of the undesired material 16 may be collected in the materialcollector 36. In some embodiments, however, some (e.g., a minor portion)of the undesired material 16 may flow out of the material collector 36in the flow path of the high-pressure vacuum flow 26. In someembodiments, the material collector 36 may remove a major portion of theundesired material 16 from the fluid flow it receives along the flowpath of the vacuum flow 26. In some embodiments, the material collector36 may receive all, or a portion, of the fluid flow out of the reactionvessel 14, and the material collector 36 may include one or morestructures configured to trap a major portion of the undesired material16 in the fluid flow received inside the material collector 36. Oncetrapped, the major portion of the undesired material 16 may be retainedin the material collector 36, for example, for disposal, recycling,and/or remediation.

FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 , and FIG. 5 are schematic views of example materialcollectors 36, including an example vacuum box 48, according toembodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective endview of an example material collector 36 including an example vacuum box48. In some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 may define a structurethrough which the vacuum flow 26, including entrained undesired material16, may traverse along the flow path of the vacuum flow 26. In someembodiments, the vacuum box 48 may include a housing 50, and the housing50 may include one or more walls at least partially defining an interior52 of the housing 50 (see FIGS. 4 and 5 ). In some embodiments, theinterior 52 may be substantially sealed from the ambient environment bythe housing 50, for example, so that a vacuum may be applied to theinterior 52, and a flow path through the interior 52 may be establishedvia the vacuum flow 26.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 through FIG. 5 , a plurality ofports may be provided in/on the 50 to facilitate the flow of fluid intoand out of the interior 52 of the housing 50. For example, each of theports may (i) facilitate access to the interior 52, (ii) facilitateconnection of conduits or other structures to provide fluid flow throughthe interior 52 along a flow path with other components of the materialextraction assembly 10, and/or (iii) to facilitate removal of portionsof undesired material 16 from the interior 52.

For example, the ports may include an inlet port 54, a vacuum port 56,and a discharge port 58. The inlet port 54 may be positioned on thehousing 50 and configured to allow access to the interior 52 fromoutside the housing 50. The inlet port 54 may include an aperturethrough a wall of the housing 50 that facilitates pneumatic connectionof the interior 52 to other components of the material extractionassembly 10. In some embodiments, the inlet port 54 may be pneumaticallyconnected to the manifold 44 (FIG. 1 ), the reaction vessel ports 24(FIG. 1 ), and/or to one or more access devices 32 (FIG. 2B), forexample, to pneumatically connect the interior 52 to one or more of thezones 18 and 20 of the reaction vessel 14. When connected to thesereaction vessel ports 24, fluid flow including undesired material 16from the reaction vessel 14 may flow into the interior 52 through theinlet port 54.

As shown in FIG. 4 , in some embodiments, the inlet port 54 may beconnected to one or more conduits 60 and/or other fluid flow componentsto form a flow path to various locations outside the housing 50. In someembodiments, the inlet port 54 may be connected to the one or moreconduits 60 to connect a location where the inlet port 54 passes throughhousing 50 to a location that is more easily accessible for a person tosecure pneumatic connections between the inlet port 54 and othercomponents of the material extraction assembly 10. For example, withreference to FIG. 3 , the inlet port 54 may extend through a wall of thehousing 50 toward the top of the housing 50 and may include conduits 60to enable the inlet port 54 to be accessible to a person located at alower portion 62 of the material collector 36.

Applicant has recognized that the vacuum box 48 may be able to storeonly a limited quantity of material and that the amount of the limitedquantity may depend, for example, on how the material is distributed inthe interior 52 of the housing 50. For example, if material is depositedin the interior 52 near locations where fluid flow may exit the interior52, significant quantities of the material in the interior 52 may bedrawn out of the interior 52 rather than being retained in the vacuumbox 48. The reaction vessel 14 (or other sources of material to beextracted) may include a greater volume of material than the vacuum box48 is able to hold.

In some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 may be configured to facilitatedistribution of material within (e.g., throughout) the interior 52 ofthe vacuum box 48. Distributing the material in the interior 52 mayincrease the amount of material that may be retained in the interior 52without increasing the rate at which the material exits vacuum box 48due to fluid flow through the interior 52 of the vacuum box 48. This mayresult in the vacuum box 48 having an increased effective materialcapacity (e.g., the maximum material capacity at which the quantity ofmaterial exiting a structure passes a threshold level) as compared toother structures that do not distribute material throughout theirrespective interiors. The increased effective material capacity of someembodiments of the vacuum box 48 may reduce the rate at which the vacuumbox 48 may need to be replaced as a result of being full due to the useof high-pressure vacuum flow 26 for material extraction. In someembodiments, the vacuum box 48 may facilitate time-efficient replacementin a material extraction assembly, so as to enable the materialextraction system to substantially continuously remove undesiredmaterial 16 using multiple vacuum boxes 48.

As shown in FIG. 4 , in some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 may includea conduit 64 configured to distribute the undesired material 16 withinthe interior 52 of the vacuum box 48. For example, the conduit 64 may bepositioned in the interior 52 and connected to a portion of the inletport 54 that passes through a wall of the housing 50, so as to positionthe fluid flow inside the interior 52 of the housing 50. In someembodiments, the conduit 64 may include multiple conduit ports 66 tofacilitate distribution of the undesired material 16 within the interior52 of the housing 50, for example, by directing the fluid flow from thereaction vessel 14 traveling along the flow path to multiple locationswithin the interior 52 of the housing 50. The multiple locations may bedistributed along the length and/or width of the vacuum box 48, forexample, so that the undesired material 16 entrained in vacuum flow 26is distributed throughout the interior 52 (e.g., rather than beinggenerally deposited at a single location). The conduit ports 66 may bepositioned to direct the undesired material 16 in the vacuum flow 26toward the floor 68 of the housing 50, which may, in some embodiments,be shaped (e.g., V-shaped) to cause the undesired material 16 to flowtoward the center of the floor 68, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 . Insome embodiments, the positioning of the conduit ports 66 may cause amajor portion of the undesired material 16 to fall via gravity to thefloor 68. For example, by being directed toward floor 68, the undesiredmaterial 16 entrained in the vacuum flow 26 may fall below the vacuumport 56, rendering the undesired material 16 less likely to exit theinterior 52 of the housing 50 due to the force of gravity.

In some embodiments, the vacuum port 56 may be positioned on the housing50 to facilitate access to the interior 52 from outside the housing 50,for example, to facilitate the high-pressure vacuum flow 26 to beapplied to the interior 52 of the housing 50. The vacuum port 56 mayinclude an aperture passing through a wall of the housing 50 and mayallow for the interior 52 to be pneumatically connected to othercomponents of the material extraction assembly 10. In some embodiments,the vacuum port 56 may be pneumatically connected to the vacuum source38 to enable the vacuum source 38 to apply a vacuum to the interior 52of the housing 50. The one or more conduits 70 and/or other fluid flowcomponents may form a flow path from the interior 52 to variouslocations outside the housing 50. In some embodiments, the one or moreconduits 70 may be connected at a location where the vacuum port 56passes through a wall of the housing 50 to a location more easilyaccessible to a person to make pneumatic connections between the vacuumport 56 and other components of the material extraction assembly 10. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3 , the vacuum port 56 may extend through awall of the housing 50 toward the top of the housing 50 and may includeconduits 70 to enable the vacuum port 56 to be accessible to a persontoward the lower portion 62 of the material collector 36.

In some embodiments, the interior 52 may be placed along the flow paththrough which the undesired material 16 flows. In some embodiments, theinlet port 54 and the vacuum port 56 may be positioned with respect tothe interior 52 of the housing 50 to establish a flow path into and outof the interior 52 of the housing 50. The flow path may cause fluid flowdirected into the inlet port 54 to flow through the interior 52 and outthe vacuum port 56. The flow path through the interior 52 may be placedalong the flow path through the material extraction assembly 10. Theflow path may be used in combination with other flow paths, for example,flow paths parallel to one another, to enhance the rate at whichundesired material may be removed, to enhance the strength of theapplied high-pressure vacuum flow 26 to facilitate removal of materialspresenting a challenge to extraction (e.g., materials having a higherviscosity, materials including significant solid content, etc.), or forother purposes, for example, as shown in FIG. 15 .

In some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 may be configured to move theundesired material 16 in the interior 52 to reduce the likelihood of itflowing out the vacuum port 56, which may improve the capacity of thevacuum box 48. For example, the vacuum box 48 may include a materialmover 72 configured to move the undesired material 16 within theinterior 52, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 . Moving the undesiredmaterial 16 in the interior 52 may further distribute the undesiredmaterial 16 in the interior 52, thereby further increasing the effectiveundesired material capacity of the vacuum box 48. In some embodiments,the material mover 72 may apply force to various portions of theundesired material 16 in the interior 52 to change the locations of theportions within the interior 52. As shown in FIG. 4 , in someembodiments, the material mover 72 may include an auger 74 and a driveunit 76 connected to the auger 74 and configured to drive (e.g., rotate)the auger 74.

In some embodiments, the auger 74 may be positioned in the interior 52to distribute the undesired material 16 within the interior 52. Theauger 74 may include a drill, one or more helical flights, and/or otherstructures for applying force to the undesired material 16 in theinterior 52 of the housing 50. For example, when the auger 74 rotates, adrill or helical flights of the auger 74 may apply force to theundesired material 16 to move it within the interior 52. The movementcaused by auger 74 may more evenly distribute the undesired material 16within the interior 52, for example, to reduce the likelihood of theundesired material 16 flowing out the exhaust port 56. The drive unit 76may include a motor or other type of actuator usable to rotate the auger74 by application of a rotational force. In some embodiments, the driveunit 76 may include a hydraulic motor driven using electric power. Thequantity of electric power required to rotate auger 74 by the drive unit76 may be directly related to the quantity of undesired material 16 inthe interior 52. For example, as the quantity of undesired material 16in the interior 52 increases, it may require progressively largeramounts of electric power for the drive unit 76 to rotate the auger 74.As a result, the quantity of electrical power used by the drive unit 76may be used to determine the load on the auger 74 and/or the quantity ofthe undesired material 16 in the interior 52 of the housing 50.

To manage the operation of auger 74, in some embodiments, the drive unit76 may be operably connected to a drive controller 78, which may becoupled to system level controllers. The drive controller 78 may direct,instruct, or otherwise orchestrate operation of the drive unit 76. Thedrive controller 78 may include computing hardware (e.g., processors,memory, storage devices, communication devices, other types of hardwaredevices including circuitry, etc.) and/or computing instructions (e.g.,computer code) that when executed by the computing hardware cause thedrive controller 78 to provide its functionality.

In some embodiments, the drive controller 78 may utilize its computinghardware to set an operating point 77 for the drive unit 76. Forexample, FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example architecture foroperating point 77 determination for a material collector 36 of amaterial extraction assembly 10, according to embodiments of thedisclosure. For example, to set the operating point 77 of for the driveunit 76, the drive controller 78 may receive information from the driveunit 76 relating to the load placed on the drive unit 76 to drive, forexample, the auger 74. For example, drive controller 78 may beconfigured to monitor the quantity of electric power used by the driveunit 76 to drive the auger 74 over time. For example, the drive unit 76may communicate one or more signals indicative of its electrical powerconsumption to the drive controller 78. The drive controller 78 mayinclude a data structure (e.g., a table, list, function, etc., stored inthe computer hardware) usable to estimate the fill level 79 (e.g., afill level determination 79 as shown in FIG. 6 ) of the vacuum box 48,for example, based at least in part on the electric power consumption ofdrive unit 76. For example, the data structure may include a lookuptable that provides the fill level 79 of the vacuum box 48 as a functionof its electrical power consumption.

To set the operating point 77 of the drive unit 76, in some embodiments,the drive controller 78 may obtain information from one or more sensors80. For example, the one or more sensors 80 may be positioned at variouslocations on/in the housing 50 (and/or other locations) and may beoperably connected to the drive controller 78 (e.g., in communicationwith the drive controller 78). The one or more sensors 80 may beconfigured to generate signals indicative of one or more physicalproperties, communicating the signals to the drive controller 78, and/ordisplaying information relating to the physical properties (orquantities determined from the measured physical properties, such as,for example, the fill level 79 of the vacuum box 48). The drivecontroller 78 may include a data structure (e.g., a table, list,function, etc.) usable to estimate the fill level 79 of the vacuum box48 based at least in part on the physical properties measured with theone or more sensors 80. The data structure may include a lookup tablethat provides the fill level 79 of the vacuum box 48 as a function ofthe measured physical properties. The measured physical properties mayinclude, for example, temperatures, depths/heights of material in theinterior 52, opacities of the material, quantities of light reflected byor transmitted through the material, etc.

To measure temperatures, in some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 mayinclude one or more sensors such as thermocouples or other devices formeasuring temperature. The one or more sensors 80 may be positioned tomeasure the temperature of the housing 50, the interior 52, or othercomponents of the vacuum box 48. In some embodiments, the data structuremay provide the fill level 79 of the vacuum box 48 as a function of, forexample, the temperature of one or more portions of the vacuum box 48.

To measure depths or heights of the undesired material in the vacuum box48, in some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 may include one or moresensors 80 including depth sensors, such as float sensors,interferometers, etc. The depth sensors may be positioned in theinterior 52, on the housing 50, and/or in other locations to measure theheight of the undesired material 16 in the vacuum box 48. In someembodiments, the data structure may provide the fill level 79 of thevacuum box 48 as a function of, for example, the heights of theundesired material 16 in the vacuum box 48.

To measure available light, in some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 mayinclude one or more sensors 80 that include photo-sensors (e.g.,charge-coupled devices, etc.). The photo-sensors may be positioned tomeasure the intensity of light reflected by or transmitted by theundesired material 16 in the interior 52 (or other visual indicators),so as to determine the fill level 79 of the vacuum box 48. In someembodiments, the data structure may provide the fill level 79 of thevacuum box 48 as a function of, for example, the measured lightintensity of the undesired material 16 in vacuum box 48.

To determine the fill level 79 of the vacuum box 48, in someembodiments, the drive controller 78 receives sensor signals from theone or more sensors 80 using one or more wireless or wired connections.The drive controller 78 may provide the measurements and/or the load onthe drive unit 76 to system level controllers (e.g., supervisorycontroller(s)) using the one or more wireless or wired connections. Thedrive controller 78 may use the measurements to determine the fill level79 of the vacuum box 48 using the data structures. Based on thedetermined fill level 79 and/or a state of the system (e.g., provided bysystem supervisory controller(s) 81), the drive controller 78 maydetermine an operating point 77 for the drive unit 76. The drive unit 76may consume electric power based on the operating point 77, therebyenabling the drive controller 78 to control the rate at which undesiredmaterial 16 is moved within the vacuum box 48.

FIG. 7A is a schematic side view and FIG. 7B is a schematic end view ofan example material collector 36 and an example carrier 84 fortransportation and/or orientation of the material collector 36,according to embodiments of the disclosure. When in an industrialenvironment, for example, the vacuum box 48 may be subject to forcesapplied to it by the environment. To manage these forces, in someembodiments, the vacuum box 48 may include structural housing supportmembers 82 positioned on/in the housing 50. The structural housingsupport members 82 may be positioned along the length of housing 50 andmay at least partially encircle multiple walls of the housing 50. Insome embodiments, the structural housing support members 82 may at leastpartially encircle three or more walls of the housing 48 (e.g., a topwall and two side walls). The structural housing support members 82 mayhave a thickness that extends away from the housing 50 so as to reducethe likelihood of force being directly transmitted to the housing 50.The structural housing support members 82 may enable the housing 50 tobe efficiently repositioned by distributing load for moving the vacuumbox 48 across the housing 50. The structural housing support members 82may also increase the rigidity of the housing 50 (e.g., by enhancing thecross section of the housing 50, where the structural housing supportmembers 82 are connected to the housing 50), thereby allowing the vacuumbox 48 to be moved with reduced risk of damage (e.g., due to forcesapplied to the vacuum box 48 to move it).

In some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 may include a floor 68 having aV-shaped cross-section or other features. Such a floor 68 or otherfeatures may tend to make the housing 50 tip to one side or the otherside if the housing 50 is placed directly onto a planar surface. Toorient the vacuum box 48, in some embodiments, the vacuum box 48 may beprovided with a carrier 84, for example, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.The housing 50 and/or the structural housing support members 82 may bepositioned on the carrier 84. The carrier 84 may be a structureconfigured to substantially maintain an upright orientation of thevacuum box 48. The carrier 84 may include a base plate 86 configured toapply force to the vacuum box 48 to move the vacuum box 48 in a mannerthat is unlikely to damage the vacuum box 48. In some embodiments,lifting member receivers 88 may be positioned on the base plate 86 andmay extend into the base plate 86 to allow forks or other structures ofheavy equipment to efficiently lift or otherwise apply force to the baseplate 86. Forklifts or other types of machinery (e.g., cranes) may becapable of lifting the carrier 84 and the vacuum box 48 using thelifting member receivers 88 (or other features of the vacuum box 48).The support members 82 may be positioned between base plate 86 and thevacuum box 48 to distribute force from the base plate 86 to the vacuumbox 48. The vacuum box 48 may have a floor 68 having a V-shapedcross-section, which may tend to cause the vacuum box 48 to list to oneside or the other if positioned on a planar surface. The support members82 may attach the base plate 86 to the vacuum box 48, so that when thecarrier 84 is positioned on a flat surface, the vacuum box 48 ismaintained in a predetermined orientation, such as an uprightorientation. The base plate 86 may be provided with wheels 90 (and/ortracks and/or skids) to facilitate movement of the vacuum box 48. Thewheels 90 may be positioned relative to the base plate 86 to allow thecarrier 84 with the vacuum box 48 to roll while being loaded, unloaded,and moved around an environment to which the vacuum box 48 is deployed.

Once the vacuum box 48 is filled with material, it may need to beunloaded before it may continue to be used. To facilitate rapidunloading of the vacuum box 48, in some embodiments, the vacuum box 48may include a door 92 (FIG. 4 ). The door 92 may substantially extendacross one end of the housing 50. The door 92 may enable the interior 52of the housing 50 to be physically accessed. The door 92 may include ahandle 94, which facilitates opening and closing of the door 92. Whenopened, the end of the housing 50 may be unsealed, thereby allowing forlarge scale access to the undesired material 16 in the housing 52. Whenthe door 92 is closed, the interior 52 may generally be sealed. The door92 may allow for efficient removal of undesired material 16 from theinterior 52, thereby allowing for a full vacuum box 48 to be quicklyemptied and returned to use for undesired material 16 extractionpurposes. For example, to efficiently remove undesired material 16 fromthe interior 52, the door 92 may be opened, and the vacuum box 48 may beoriented, so that gravity force tends to cause material in the interior52 to exit the housing 50 through the door 92.

FIG. 8A is schematic side view and FIG. 8B is a schematic top view of anexample vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly 12, accordingto embodiments of the disclosure. To transfer the undesired material 16from the reaction vessel 14 to the material collector 36, ahigh-pressure vacuum flow 26 may be applied to the material collector36. In some embodiments, the vacuum generation and sound attenuationassembly 12 may include a vacuum source 38, which may be pneumaticallyconnected to the material collector 36 by a conduit 96 (e.g., a hose).The pneumatic connection may allow the vacuum source 38 to apply ahigh-pressure vacuum flow 26 to the material collector 36. For example,the vacuum flow 26 may be applied to the interior 52 of the materialcollector 36 via the conduit 96 (or through other types of pneumaticconnections between the components). The applied vacuum flow 26 maygenerate the vacuum induced fluid flow 26 along the flow path, therebyconveying the undesired material 16 from reaction vessel 14 to materialcollector 36.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, in some embodiments, the vacuum generationand sound attenuation assembly 12 may include a sound attenuationchamber 40 connected to the vacuum source 38. In some embodiments, thesound attenuation chamber 40 may include an attenuation housing 98 atleast partially defining a chamber interior volume being positioned toreceive at least a portion of the vacuum flow 26 from the vacuum source38 and attenuate sound generated by the vacuum source 38 duringoperation. In some embodiments of the vacuum generation and soundattenuation assembly 12, the vacuum source 38 and the sound attenuationchamber 40 may be connected to one another to form a unified vacuum andattenuation module 100, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1, 8A, and 8B. Insome embodiments, the vacuum source 38 may be directly connected to thesound attenuation chamber 40. In the example embodiment shown, theunified vacuum and attenuation module 100 includes a chassis 102supporting the vacuum source 38 and the sound attenuation chamber 40,and the chassis 102 may be configured to be transported betweengeographical locations. In some embodiments, wheels 104 may be connectedto the chassis 102 to facilitate transportation, although tracks, skids,etc., may be connected to the chassis 102 instead of, or in addition to,wheels 104, depending, for example, on the type of terrain over whichthe vacuum and attenuation module 100 may be expected to traverse. Insome embodiments, the chassis 102 may be self-propelled, for example,including a powertrain having an engine, hydraulic motor, and/orelectric motor. Mounting the vacuum and attenuation module 100 on amobile chassis 102 may facilitate rapid set-up, removal, and/orreconfiguration of the material extraction assembly 10 in accordancewith embodiments of the disclosure.

In some embodiments, the vacuum source 38 may be implemented using avariety of configurations, depending, for example, on the environment towhich the material collector 36 is deployed for operation. For example,in some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the vacuum source 38may generate a vacuum, which may be applied to the material collector36. For example, the vacuum source 38 may include one or more vacuumgenerators 106 configured to generate the vacuum flow 26, and the vacuumgenerators 106 may be pneumatically connected to one or more materialcollectors 36, for example, via a conduit 96.

The one or more vacuum generators 106 may be configured to generate thevacuum flow 26 in different ways, depending at least in part on, forexample, the environment to which the vacuum and attenuation module 100is deployed. For example, in some embodiments, the vacuum generators 106may be configured to generate the vacuum flow 26 using the flow ofanother fluid. For example, the vacuum generators 106 may be connectedto a fluid source 42 (see FIG. 1 ) via a fluid supply conduit 46. Insome such embodiments, the vacuum generators 106 may be configured toreceive a pressurized supply of the fluid through the fluid supplyconduit 46. The flow of the pressurized fluid may cause the vacuumgenerators 106 to generate a high-pressure vacuum flow 26, therebyapplying a high-pressure vacuum flow 26 to one or more materialcollectors 36, which may, in turn, transfer the vacuum flow 26 from theone or more material collectors 36 to the vacuum source 38. Thevacuum-induced fluid flow 26 received from the one or more materialcollectors 36 may include a minor portion of the undesired material 16from the one or more material collectors 36, for example, as describedherein.

When the one or more vacuum generators 106 generate the vacuum flow 26,in some embodiments, the vacuum generators 106 may combinevacuum-induced flow 26 and a fluid supply flow 108, and exhaust thecombined flows as a vacuum exhaust fluid flow 110, which may include theminor portion of the undesired material 16, for example, asschematically shown in FIG. 9 . To limit or prevent contamination of theambient environment with the minor portion of the undesired material 16,the vacuum generators 106 may be pneumatically connected to the soundattenuation chamber 40 via a conduit 112 (e.g., a hose). The vacuumexhaust fluid flow 110 may flow from the vacuum source 38 into the soundattenuation chamber 40 via the conduit 112. Accordingly, the vacuumsource 38 may be in the fluid flow path from the reaction vessel 14 tosound attenuation chamber 40.

In some embodiments, in order to generate a more powerful high-pressurevacuum flow 26, multiple vacuum sources 38 and/or one or more soundattenuation chambers 40 may be positioned on a common chassis 102 toform a more powerful vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly 12(e.g., a more powerful unified vacuum and attenuation module 100). Forexample, multiple vacuum sources 38 may each be pneumatically connectedto the (one or more) sound attenuation chambers 40, which may cause two(or more) separate flow paths (e.g., for each of the vacuum sources 38)and which may be combined at the one or more sound attenuation chambers40. The vacuum sources 38 may be pneumatically connected to a commonmaterial collector 36 (e.g., to increase the strength of thehigh-pressure vacuum flow 26 through the common material collector 36)or different material collectors 36 (e.g., to enable the undesiredmaterial 16 to be transferred to multiple material collectors 36 inparallel).

In some embodiments, the vacuum source 38 may be implemented using avariety of different structures, depending at least in part on, forexample, the environment to which vacuum source 38 is deployed. Forexample, in some embodiments, the vacuum source 38 may include one ormore vacuum generators 106, each having a venturi mechanism 114configured to receive pressurized fluid from the fluid source 42 (seeFIG. 1 ) and use a venturi effect to generate the vacuum flow 26 betweenthe source of the material (e.g., the reaction vessel 14) and the vacuumgeneration and sound attenuation assembly 12. For example, the venturimechanism 114 may be a vacuum generation mechanism that generates avacuum using another fluid flow.

As schematically depicted in FIG. 9 , which shows an example vacuumgenerator 38 according to embodiments of the disclosure, the venturimechanism 114 may include fluid supply ports 116 through which thesupply of pressurized fluid from the fluid source 42 used to generatethe vacuum is received. The venturi mechanism 114 also may include avacuum port 118 through which the generated vacuum flow may be applied,and an exhaust port 120 through which the fluid flow used to generatethe vacuum flow and any material drawn into the vacuum port 118 with thegenerated vacuum flow may be exhausted from the venturi mechanism 114.

In some embodiments, to generate the vacuum flow 26, the fluid supplyports 116 are pneumatically connected to the fluid source 42, which maybe a mobile fluid supply. For example, the fluid supply ports 116 may bepneumatically connected to a compressed fluid stored at or in the fluidsource 42. The compressed fluid may be used to generate the fluid supplyflow 108 from the fluid source 42. The fluid supply flow 108 may bereceived through the pneumatic connection and into the fluid supplyports 116. The fluid supply flow 108 may be configured to drive theventuri mechanism 114, thereby generating the vacuum flow 26 produced bythe vacuum source 38, which may be applied to other devices via thevacuum port 118.

The strength of the vacuum flow 26 generated by the venturi mechanism114 may depend at least in part on, for example, the rate of the fluidsupply flow 108 used to drive the venturi mechanism 114. In order toachieve higher vacuum pressure generation, in some embodiments, thevacuum source 38 may include a combiner 122. The combiner 122 mayinclude a manifold for combining multiple fluid supply flows 108received by the fluid supply ports 116 into a single fluid flow anddirecting the single fluid flow into the venturi mechanism 114 forgenerating the vacuum flow 26.

In some embodiments, to manage or control the flow rate, pressure,and/or volume of the fluid supply flow 108 into the venturi mechanism114, which may be used to control or regulate the strength of the vacuumflow 26, fluid flow control valves 124 may be positioned between thefluid supply ports 116 and the fluid source 42. In some embodiments, thestrength of the vacuum flow 26 generated by the venturi mechanism 114may be substantially proportional to the flow rate, pressure, and/orvolume of fluid flow into the fluid supply ports 116. The fluid flowcontrol valves 124 may be used to limit (e.g., reduce, stop, etc.) therate of fluid flow into the venturi mechanism 114 from the fluid supplyports 116.

In some embodiments, to apply the vacuum to one or more materialcollectors 36, the vacuum port 118 maybe pneumatically connected to theone or more material collectors 36. For example, the vacuum port 118 maybe pneumatically connected to the one or more material collectors 36 toapply a vacuum to the one or more material collectors 36. Applying thevacuum to a material collector 36 may generate the vacuum-induced fluidflow 26 into the vacuum port 118 from the material collector 36. As aresult, the vacuum-induced fluid flow 26 may draw undesired material 16into the material collector 36 from the source of the material (e.g.,the reaction vessel 14). A major portion of the undesired material 16may be trapped by and within the material collector 36, and a minorportion of the undesired material 16 may flow into the vacuum source 38in vacuum-induced fluid flow 26.

To prevent or limit contamination of the ambient environment by aportion of the undesired material 16, in some embodiments, the exhaustport 120 may be pneumatically connected to the sound attenuation chamber40. For example, the exhaust port 120 may be pneumatically connected tothe sound attenuation chamber 40, which may exhaust the vacuum-inducedfluid flow 26, which may include the minor portion of the undesiredmaterial 16, and the fluid supply flow 108, for example, as a combinedfluid flow into the sound attenuation chamber 40.

In some embodiments, the pneumatic connections between the ports 116,118, and/or 120 of the vacuum source 38 may be made using conduits, suchas hoses or other flexible tubular structures. The conduits may enablethe pneumatic connections to be efficiently made, thereby reducing thesetup time for assembling the material extraction assembly 10, forexample, shown in FIG. 1 .

Applicant has recognized that the use of conduits, such as hoses orother flexible tubular structures may present a potential hazard to aperson near the conduits. For example, the vacuum flow 26 generated bythe vacuum source 38 may cause the conduits to flex or move due to theforces applied to them by the fluid flows. A person may be impacted bythe conduits if the flexing or movement of the conduits is significantand/or unexpected. In some embodiments, the material extraction assembly10 may reduce or eliminate one of more of the conduits, for example, bypneumatically connecting one or more of the components of the materialextraction assembly 10 to one another in a manner that eliminates a needfor at least some of the conduits (e.g., connecting components directlyto one another). For example, the material extraction assembly 10, insome embodiments, may include direct attachment of the vacuum source 38to one or more material collectors 36 and/or to the sound attenuationchamber 40. By directly attaching the vacuum source 38 to the one ormore material collectors 36 and/or the sound attenuation chamber 40,conduits, such as hoses or other flexible structures may not benecessary. As a result, the potential hazard of impact by uncontrolledmovement by the conduits or other flexible structures to a person may bereduced or eliminated.

As shown in FIG. 10A, FIG. 10B, FIG. 10C, FIG. 10D, FIG. 10E, FIG. 10F,FIG. 10G, FIG. 10H, and FIG. 11 (also FIGS. 8A and 8B), in someembodiments, the vacuum source 38 is directly connected to the soundattenuation chamber 40 forming a unified vacuum and attenuation module100. Directly connecting the vacuum source 38 to the sound attenuationchamber 40 may result in the vacuum-induced fluid flow to flow from thevacuum source 38 (e.g., as part of the vacuum exhaust fluid flow 110)directly into the sound attenuation chamber 40. In some suchembodiments, both the vacuum source 38 and the sound attenuation chamber40 may be rigid structures able to absorb forces applied to them by thevacuum flow 26 without significantly deforming or moving.

Applicant has recognized that the undesired material 16 may, in someinstances, be challenging to move via fluid flow by virtue of, forexample, the state of matter of the undesired material 16, the weight ofthe undesired material 16, the viscosity and/or surface tension of theundesired material 16, and/or other physical properties of the undesiredmaterial 16. Such characteristics of the undesired material 16 may limitthe rate at which the undesired material 16 may flow through the fluidflow path if only a limited level of the vacuum flow 26 is generated bythe vacuum generators 106. In some embodiments, the material extractionassembly 10 may be configured to provide a high-pressure vacuum flow 26,which may be suitable to expedite flow of the undesired material 16through the fluid flow path. To expedite the flow of the undesiredmaterial 16, the vacuum source 38, in some embodiments, may include twoor more vacuum generators 106, such as two or more venturi mechanisms114, which may be operated in parallel with each other in order toenhance the pressure of the vacuum flow 26 generated by the vacuumsource 38. Each of the two or more vacuum generators 106 may be drivenusing the pressurized fluid from the fluid source 42 (and/or othersources of pressurized fluid, such as other fluid sources (e.g., mobilefluid supplies)).

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C are schematic views of an example vacuumgeneration and sound attenuation assembly 12 showing an example vacuumsource end, according to embodiments of the disclosure. The examplevacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly 12 shown in FIGS. 10Athrough 10C includes an embodiment of vacuum source 38 having multipleventuri mechanisms 114. For example, as illustrated, the vacuum source38 includes four venturi mechanisms 114. The four venturi mechanisms 114may be operated simultaneously in parallel to provide a high-pressurevacuum flow 26 and different levels of vacuum pressure.

In some embodiments, to manage the pressure generated by vacuum source38, the venturi mechanisms 114 maybe divided into two dual vacuumsources 126. Each of the venturi mechanisms 114 of the two dual vacuumsources 126 may be fluidly connected in parallel to each other, forexample, so that they each may be driven using a common fluid supplyport 116, may commonly exhaust out of a common exhaust port 120, and/ormay apply vacuum using a common vacuum port 118. In this example manner,each dual vacuum source 126 may provide a higher pressure vacuum flow 26than may be provided using a single venturi mechanism 114 driven by asimilar rate of fluid flow received from the fluid source 42.

To control the generation of the vacuum flow 26 by the one or morevacuum sources 38, in some embodiments, the ports 116, 118, and/or 120of each dual vacuum source 126 may be controlled by correspondingrespective control valves 128, 130, and/or 132. The control valves 128,130, and/or 132 may be usable to control the rate of fluid flow througheach of the respective ports.

Applicant has recognized that the strength of the vacuum flow 26generated using multiple vacuum generators 106 including, for example,multiple venturi mechanisms 114, may present potential hazards. Tomanage or mitigate the potential hazards, in some embodiments, thevacuum source 38 may include a housing 134, for example, as shown inFIG. 10D. The housing 134 may be a physical structure positioned to atleast partially enclose one or more of the venturi mechanisms 114. Insome embodiments, the housing 134 may physically shield the venturimechanisms 114 from inadvertent strikes and/or may help acousticallyinsulate the venturi mechanisms 114 from the ambient environment. Thehousing 134 may include any number of walls or other types of structuralmembers to physically shield the venturi mechanisms 114 from the ambientenvironment. In some embodiments, to manage or mitigate the potentialhazard, the vacuum port control valve 130 may be at least partiallyenclosed by the housing 134 and may be configured to be remotelyoperable. For example, the vacuum port control valve 130 may be operablycoupled to a vacuum valve control interface configured to controloperation of the vacuum port control valve 130 remotely from the vacuumport control valve 130 (e.g., via a button, control panel, computertablet, smart phone, or other mechanism operable by a person), which,when actuated, may cause the vacuum port control valve 130 to close thevacuum port 118. In such embodiments, if a problem with operationoccurs, the vacuum flow 26 generated by the vacuum source 38 may bequickly and/or remotely terminated.

In some embodiments, to manage the process of generating thehigh-pressure vacuum flow 26, the vacuum source 38 may include a vacuumsource controller 136. The vacuum source controller 136 may be incommunication with one or more of the control valves 128, 130, and/or132. The vacuum source controller 136 may be configured to controloperation of one or more of the control valves 128, 130, and/or 132 toprovide vacuum flows having desired pressures. For example, the vacuumsource controller 136 may be operably coupled to an adjustor, such as aswitch, dial, or other mechanism that a person may operate to achieve adesired level of vacuum pressure to be generated by the vacuum source38. The vacuum source controller 136 may use one or more signals fromthe adjustor to set the operation points for the one or more controlvalves 128, 130, and/or 132 to generate the desired vacuum pressurewith, for example, the venturi mechanisms 114.

The vacuum source controller 136 may include computing hardware (e.g.,processors, memory, storage devices, communication devices, other typesof hardware devices including circuitry, etc.), and/or computinginstructions (e.g., computer code) that when executed by the computinghardware cause the vacuum source controller 136 to provide itsfunctionality. The vacuum source controller 136 may include a lookuptable or other data structure usable to determine the operating pointsfor the one or more control valves 128, 130, and/or 132, based on adesired vacuum flow level. Once operating points are determined, thevacuum source controller 136 may modify operation of one or more of thecontrol valves 128, 130, and/or 132 based on the operating points. Forexample, vacuum source controller 136 may modify the quantities of powerused to drive control valves 128, 130, and/or 132 to set the quantity offluid flow through each of the ports 116, 118, and/or 120.

In some embodiments, to limit or prevent contamination of the ambientenvironment with undesired material 16, the sound attenuation chamber 40may be configured remove undesired material 16 from the vacuum-inducedfluid flow 26 prior to exhaustion into the ambient environment. To doso, the sound attenuation chamber 40 may be pneumatically connected tothe vacuum source 38. In some embodiments, the sound attenuation chamber40 is pneumatically connected to the vacuum source 38 by a conduit(e.g., a hose). In some embodiments, for example, as shown in FIGS.10A-10H, the sound attenuation chamber 40 is directly and pneumaticallyconnected to the vacuum source 38, thereby reducing reliance on aconduit, which may provide a potential hazard during operation of thematerial extraction assembly 10.

Applicant has recognized that some industrial environments, such as theexample environment including a reaction vessel 14 shown in FIG. 1 , mayinclude personnel tasked to operate the equipment in these environments.The presence of such personnel may restrict the acceptable level ofsound that may be produced for undesired material removal purposes. Thesound attenuation chamber 40, according to some embodiments, may beconfigured to attenuate sound generated by the vacuum source 38 and/orthe fluid source 42 to sufficient levels, such that personnel may notneed to wear protective hearing due to the sound generated by thematerial extraction assembly 10. In some embodiments, the soundattenuation chamber 40 may be configured to reduce the sound levelgenerated by the material extraction assembly 10 by an amount rangingfrom ten percent to forty percent (e.g., by twenty-five decibels). Forexample, without the sound attenuation chamber 40, according to someembodiments, the material extraction assembly 10 may generateapproximately 115 decibels of sound. In contrast, when the soundattenuation chamber 40 is incorporated into the material extractionassembly 10, the sound level may be reduced to about 89 decibels.

The sound attenuation chamber 40, in some embodiments, may both filtermaterials received from fluid flows before exhausting the received fluidflows and attenuate sound from received fluid flows before exhaustingthe received fluid flows into the ambient environment. In someembodiments, the sound may be attenuated to an extent that personnel inthe area need not wear hearing protection, although personnel may needto wear hearing protection for other reasons.

FIGS. 10E, 10F, 11, 12, and 13 illustrate examples of embodiments of asound attenuation chamber 40. The sound attenuation chamber 40, in someembodiments, may include an attenuation housing 138 at least partiallydefining a chamber interior volume 140 positioned to receive at least aportion of the vacuum flow 26 from the vacuum source 38 and attenuatesound generated by the vacuum source 38 during operation. Theattenuation housing 138 may substantially seal the interior volume 140from the ambient environment. The attenuation housing 138 may includeone or more walls or other structural members to at least partially sealthe interior volume 140.

In some embodiments, to filter undesired material 16 entering the soundattenuation chamber 40, the sound attenuation chamber 40 may include oneor more inlet ports 142, one or more discharge ports 144, and/or one ormore exhaust ports 146. At least some of the ports may be positioned onthe attenuation housing 138 to provide access to the interior volume 140from outside the attenuation housing 138. For example, the respectiveports may include holes, apertures and/or other structures through oneor more walls of the attenuation housing 138 that enable access tointerior volume 140.

The inlet ports 142 may be pneumatically connected to the vacuum source38. When pneumatically connected to the vacuum source 38, the inletports 142 may receive vacuum-induced flow 26 from the vacuum source 38.The minor portion of the undesired material 16 may be entrained invacuum-induced flow 26, thereby presenting a potential contaminationhazard if exhausted into the ambient environment without furtherfiltering and/or treatment.

The exhaust ports 146, in some embodiments, may be pneumaticallyconnected to the ambient environment. The fluid flow path through thematerial extraction assembly 10 may end at the exhaust ports 146.Consequently, in some embodiments, vacuum-induced flow 26 drawn from thesource of the fluid (e.g., the reaction vessel 14, FIG. 1 ) and throughthe flow path may exit the flow path through the exhaust ports 146. Theinterior volume 140 may be in the flow path between the inlet ports 142and the exhaust ports 146, such that vacuum-induced flow 26 flowsthrough the interior volume 140 prior to being exhausted into theambient environment.

In some embodiments, to partially attenuate sound, the exhaust ports 146may be of substantially larger size than the inlet ports 142. The sizedifference between these ports may reduce or eliminate backpressure onthe vacuum-induced flow 26. The flow path may expand greatly incross-sectional area as the vacuum-induced flow 26 transitions from theinlet ports 142 into the interior volume 140. As a result, any soundgenerated by the vacuum-induced flow 26 may generally occur at aninterface between the inlet ports 142 and the interior volume 140. Insome embodiments, accordingly, the sound attenuation chamber 40 may, inpart, dissipate the sound generated by the vacuum-induced flow 26 bygenerating it within the sound attenuation chamber 400, for example,such that the sound will dissipate prior to exiting the soundattenuation chamber 40.

In some embodiments, to filter undesired material 16 prior to exhaustionto the ambient environment, the interior volume 140 may include a filtermedia region 148. The filter media region 148 may include a portion ofthe interior volume 140 in which filter media 150 may be positioned. Thefilter media region 148 may be positioned, for example, such that thevacuum-induced flow 26 must substantially flow through the filter mediaregion 148 and filter media 150 prior to being exhausted through theexhaust ports 146 to the ambient environment. In some embodiments, theinterior volume 140 may include a filter media support plate 152. Thefilter media support plate 152 may be configured to support the filtermedia 150 within the filter media region 148. In some embodiments, thefilter media support plate 152 may generally divide the interior volume140 into two or more sections and may include holes through which thevacuum-induced flow 26 may travel between the sections. One or bothsides of the filter media support plate 152 may include one or morebaffles 154 configured to attenuate sound. The one or more baffles 154may attenuate sound generated by the vacuum-induced flow 26, forexample, prior to exhaustion out of the sound attenuation chamber 40.

In some embodiments, to filter undesired material 16 prior to exhaustionto the ambient environment, the filter media 150 may be configured tofilter at least a portion of the minor portion of the undesired material16 from the vacuum-induced flow 26. The filter media 150 may include anytype of filter media for removing material from fluid flows. The filtermedia 150 also may be sound absorptive and, in part, help to dissipatethe sound generated by the vacuum-induced flow 26. The filter media 150may, in some examples, exhibit a relatively limited filtration capacity.As filter media 150 filters the undesired material 16, its permeabilityto fluid flow may decrease.

To manage the filtration capacity of the filter media 150, in someembodiments, the sound attenuation chamber 40 may include one or morejet generators 156 positioned relative to the sound attenuation chamber40 to generate jets of fluid flow directed toward the filter media 150to at least partially maintain the filtration capacity of the filtermedia 150. For example, the jet generators 156 may be positioned togenerate jets of fluid flow directed toward the filter media 150 to atleast partially refresh or restore the filtration capacity of filtermedia 150. For example, the jet generators 156 may be positioned outsidethe attenuation housing 138 and oriented facing into the filter mediaregion 148.

When the jet generators 156 generate the jets, the jets may transferundesired material 16 filtered by the filter media 150 out of the filtermedia 150 and into the interior volume 140. This may, in someembodiments, at least partially restore the permeability and/or thefiltration capacity of the filter media 150. For example, the jets maycause undesired material 16 trapped in the filter media 150 to drop outof the filter media region 148, for example, through holes in the filtermedia support plate 152 and into interior volume 140.

To drive the jet generators 156, in some embodiments, the soundattenuation chamber 40 may include a jet fluid supply 158. The jet fluidsupply 158 may be configured to store compressed fluid. In someembodiments, the jet fluid supply 158 may include a storage tank inwhich the compressed fluid is stored. The compressed fluid may be a gas,such as, for example, compressed air. The jet fluid supply 158 may bepneumatically coupled to the jet generators 156. The jet generators 156may include one or more ports and one or more electrically drivenactuators configured to control the rate at which the compressed fluidfrom the jet fluid supply 158 exits the jet generators 156. Thus, thejet generators 156 may modulate one or more of a strength of the jets offluid flow, timing of the jets of fluid flow, or one or more othercharacteristics associated with the jets of fluid flow.

To fill the jet fluid supply 158, in some embodiments, the soundattenuation chamber 40 may include a fluid supply port 160. The fluidsupply port 160 may be pneumatically connected to the jet fluid supply158 to refill the jet fluid supply 158 with compressed fluid, forexample, when another source of compressed fluid (e.g., the fluid source42) is pneumatically coupled to the fluid supply port 160.

In some embodiments, due to a limited size of the interior volume 140,only a finite quantity of undesired material 16 may be stored in theinterior volume 140. Over time the interior volume 140 may become filledwith undesired material 16 as undesired material 16 is removed from thesource of the material (e.g., the reaction vessel 14). Once the interiorvolume 140 is filled, the sound attenuation chamber 40 may becomeinoperable, for example, undesired material 16 may block fluid flowthrough the interior volume 140.

To manage the fill level 79 of the interior volume 140, in someembodiments, the sound attenuation chamber 40 may include one or moredischarge ports 144. The discharge ports 144 may facilitate removal ofundesired material 16 from the interior volume 140. In some embodiments,undesired material 16 may be removed from the interior volume 140through the discharge port(s) 144 while the vacuum-induced flow 26 flowsthrough the interior volume 140.

To remove undesired material 16 from the interior volume 140, in someembodiments, the discharge port 144 may be pneumatically connected to amaterial collector 36 (e.g., a vacuum box 48). For example, thedischarge port 144 may be pneumatically connected to a materialcollector 36 via a conduit 162 (e.g., such as a restrictive hose). Whena high-pressure vacuum is applied to the material collector 36,undesired material 16 in the interior volume 140 may be drawn out of theinterior volume 140, through the conduit 162, and into the materialcollector 36. Thus, both the major portion and the minor portion of theundesired material 16 extracted from the source of the material (e.g.,the reaction vessel 14) may be transferred to a material collector 36.The discharge port 144 may be pneumatically connected to othercomponents for undesired material discharge purposes without departingfrom embodiments disclosed herein.

To control when and/or the rate of removal of the undesired material 16from the interior volume 140, in some embodiments, the sound attenuationchamber 40 may include a discharge port control valve 164. The dischargeport control valve 164 may be positioned to control the rate of fluidflow through the discharge port 144. For example, the discharge portcontrol valve 164 may include an electrically driven actuator usable tocontrol the rate of fluid flow through discharge port 144. In someembodiments, the discharge port control valve 164 may control the rateof fluid flow through discharge port 144 to selectively remove undesiredmaterial 16 from the interior volume 140.

To determine when and/or at which rate to remove undesired material 16from the interior volume 140, in some embodiments, the sound attenuationchamber 40 may include one or more sensors 166. The sensors 166 may bepositioned to monitor the filtration capacity of the filter media 150,the fill level 79 of the interior volume 140, and/or the flow rate ofundesired material 16 out of the discharge port 144. The sensors 166 maybe configured to generate signals indicative of any physical property ofthe sound attenuation chamber 40 and use the signals to determine thesequantities. For example, the sensors 166 may include photo-sensors thatmeasure the filtration capacity of the filter media 150 based on aquantity of light transmitted by the filter media 150. In someembodiments, the sensors 166 may include a transducer configured tomeasure the mass of undesired material 16 to determine the fill level 79of the interior volume 140. The sensors 166 may include other componentsfor measuring the same or different types of physical properties withoutdeparting from embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example architecture for operating anexample sound attenuation chamber 40 of an example material extractionassembly 10, according to embodiments of the disclosure. To coordinateoperation of the sound attenuation chamber 40, in some embodiments, thesound attenuation chamber 40 may include a chamber controller 168 incommunication with one or more of a discharge port control valveactuator, one or more jet generators 156, and the one or more sensors166. For example, the chamber controller 168 may be operably connectedto the discharge port control valve 164, the jet generators 156, and thesensors 166. The chamber controller 168 may obtain information fromsensors 166 and selectively drive the discharge port control valve 164and/or the jet generators 156 based on the information to ensure that(i) the filter media 150 is capable of continuing to filter fluid flowsthrough the interior volume 140 and (ii) the interior volume 140 is notoverfilled with undesired material 16.

In some embodiments, the chamber controller 168 may include computinghardware (e.g., processors, memory, storage devices, communicationdevices, other types of hardware devices including circuitry, etc.),and/or computing instructions (e.g., computer code) that when executedby the computing hardware cause chamber controller 168 to provide itsfunctionality. The chamber controller 168 may include a lookup table orother data structure usable to make an operating points determination170 for the discharge port control valve 164 and/or the jet generators156 based at least in part on the fill level 79 and filtration capacityof the filter media 150. Once the operating points are determined, thechamber controller 168 may be configured to modify operation of thedischarge port control valve 164 and/or the jet generators 156 based atleast in part on the operating points. For example, the chambercontroller 168 may be configured to modify the quantities of power usedto drive the discharge port control valve 164 and/or the jet generators156 to set the quantity of fluid flows through each of the dischargeport control valves 164 and/or the jet generators 1560. As a result, insome embodiments, the sound attenuation chamber 40 may be more likely tobe able to substantially continuously operate.

In some embodiments, to enable a person to control operation of thesound attenuation chamber 40, the sound attenuation chamber 40 mayinclude a user input device 172. The user input device 172 may be incommunication with to the chamber controller 168. The user input may becommunicated to the chamber controller 168 via the user input device172. The user input device 172 may include, for example, one or morebuttons, touch sensitive displays, levers, knobs, and/or other devices(e.g., control panels, tablet computers, and/or smart phones) that areoperable by a person to provide the chamber controller 168 withinformation for operating or controlling the sound attenuation chamber40.

The chamber controller 168 may be configured to receive information froma person via the user input device 172 regarding how frequently torefresh the filtration capacity of the filter media 150 and/orinformation regarding how frequently to discharge undesired material 16from the interior volume 140. The chamber controller 168 may use suchinformation when determining the operating points for the discharge portcontrol valve 164 and/or the jet generators 156. For example, a personmay provide operational preferences or other information using the userinput device 172 to configure operation of the sound attenuation chamber40.

In some embodiments, the chamber controller 168 may be powered usingelectricity. The sound attenuation chamber 40 may include one or moresolar panels 174 that provide electrical power to the chamber controller168. The chamber controller 168 may include one or more batteries inwhich power from the one or more solar panels 174 may be stored prior touse by the chamber controller 168 (and/or other controllers of thematerial extraction assembly 10).

Applicant has recognized that some environments, such as industrialenvironments similar to the environment illustrated in FIG. 1 , mayinclude volatile hydrocarbon fluids (and/or other types of volatilematerials) or other types of fluids susceptible to combustion. Someembodiments of the material extraction assembly 10, or one or morecomponents thereof, may not be powered by combustible power sources.Rather, the material collector 36, the vacuum source 38, the soundattenuation chamber 40, and/or the fluid source 42 may be powered withelectricity and/or compressed fluid. In some such embodiments, thematerial extraction assembly 10 may be capable of removing undesiredmaterials from an environment, such as an industrial environment,without the risk of igniting combustible materials in the environment(or with a reduced risk).

In some embodiments, various components may utilize fluid flows toprovide their functionalities. To operate these components, the materialextraction assembly 10 may include the fluid source 42, which may be amobile fluid supply. The fluid source 42 may be configured to supplypressurized or compressed fluid to the vacuum source 38 and/or the soundattenuation chamber 40. The fluid supplied may be may be pneumaticallyconnected to the vacuum source 38 (e.g., to generate vacuums) and/or thesound attenuation chamber 40, for example, to refresh the filtrationcapacity of the filter media 150.

To supply pressurized or compressed fluid, the fluid source 42 maycompress fluid and store the compressed or pressurized fluid for futureuse. In some embodiments, the fluid source 42 may include an aircompressor, and the air compressor may be configured to compress airfrom the ambient environment to generate the compressed or pressurizedfluid. The fluid source 42 may compress other fluids without departingfrom embodiments disclosed herein.

To limit or prevent combustion risk, in some embodiments, the fluidsource 42 may compress fluid using electricity. The fluid source 42 mayobtain the electricity from any electricity source. In some embodiments,the fluid source 42 may include one or more batteries for providing theelectricity to the fluid source 42. In some embodiments, the fluidsource 42 may include a power cable and/or other componentry forobtaining electricity from another source (e.g., from a utility companyor other large scale supplier, a solar setup, and/or or othernon-combustion-based electricity producers, etc.).

Applicant has recognized that environments, such as industrialenvironments, such as the site illustrated in FIG. 1 , may require ahigh uptime by their operators. As a result, the time required to setupthe material extraction assembly 10 may be a significant cost to theoperators of the site. In some embodiments, the material extractionassembly 10 disclosed herein may provide for the efficient setup,operation, and removal of the assembly in many environments, includingindustrial environments. In some embodiments, any of the components ofthe material extraction assembly 10 may be placed or mounted on chassisincluding trailers or other types of high mobility structures to enablethem to be efficiently placed and oriented with respect to, for example,a reaction vessel.

Applicant has recognized that environments, such the example environmentshown in FIG. 1 , may have different requirements for material removal.For example, different industrial environments may have differentquantities of undesired material and/or undesired material at differentindustrial environments may have different physical properties. Thematerial extraction assembly 10 in accordance with embodiments disclosedherein may provide for rapid deployment of a material extractionassembly 10 that is customized or tailored to meet the requirements ofeach industrial environment. As a result, different numbers ofcomponents may be deployed and connected (e.g., pneumatically connected)in parallel and/or in series to provide desired levels of vacuumstrength and/or desired storage capacities for undesired material.

For example, as shown in FIG. 15 , in some embodiments, a materialextraction assembly 10 may include multiple material collectors 36(e.g., vacuum boxes 48), vacuum sources 38, sound attenuation chambers40, and/or fluid sources 42. For example, each material collector 36 maybe pneumatically connected to a reaction vessel 14 via a divider 176 andmanifold 178 through conduits 180. The divider 176 may be a pneumaticsplitter that establishes two separate fluid flow paths through therespective material collectors 36.

By pneumatically connecting both material collectors 36, for example, tothe source of the material (e.g., the reaction vessel 14) in parallel,undesired material 16 from the source of the material may be transferredto both material collectors 36 concurrently or substantiallysimultaneously. As a result, the material extraction assembly 10 may becapable of removing twice as much undesired material 16 before thematerial collectors 36 are filled. The material removal capacity of amaterial extraction assembly 10 in accordance with some embodiments maybe scaled up (or down) as desired in this example manner to meetenvironment-based requirements. In such embodiments, any of thecomponents may include any number of ports to facilitate the formationof multiple fluid flow paths. For example, as seen in FIG. 15 , thematerial collectors 36 may include four ports (e.g., two inlet ports andtwo vacuum ports). The components shown in FIG. 15 may include differentnumbers of ports without departing from embodiments disclosed herein.

Each material collector 36 may be pneumatically connected to two vacuumsources 38 through hoses 182. By pneumatically connecting two vacuumsources 38 to a single material collector 36, the strength of thehigh-pressure vacuum in the material collector 36 may be increased.Consequently, a higher degree of suction may be applied to undesiredmaterial 16 in reaction vessel 14, thereby increasing the transfer rateof undesired material 16 from reaction vessel 14 and allowing moredifficult material to be transferred out of reaction vessel 14. Thesuction strength of the material extraction assembly 10 in accordancewith embodiments may be scaled up (or down) as desired in this examplemanner to meet environment requirements.

In some embodiments, each of the vacuum sources 38 pneumaticallyconnected to a material collector 36 may be driven with fluid flow froma corresponding fluid source 42 (e.g., a mobile fluid supply). Forexample, the fluid sources 42 (e.g., gas supplies) may be pneumaticallyconnected to corresponding vacuum sources 38 through conduits 184.

In some embodiments, each of the vacuum sources 38 pneumaticallyconnected to a material collector 36 may also exhaust through acorresponding sound attenuation chamber 40. For example, the vacuumsources 38 that exhaust through a corresponding sound attenuationchamber 40 may be positioned on a trailer together to form a mobileunit. In this manner, the material extraction assembly 10 may be quicklyand efficiently deployed and scaled up (or down) as desirable to meetenvironment requirements.

To facilitate efficient reconfiguration of the material extractionassembly 10, any of the pneumatic connections may be implemented usingquick connect-disconnect connections and/or pneumatic isolators. Thequick connect-disconnect connections may allow for any of the pneumaticconnections to be quickly made and removed. The pneumatic isolators mayautomatically seal the material removal system when a pneumaticconnection is disconnected. For example, pneumatic isolators may bepositioned between the divider 176 and the material collectors 36. Whenone of conduits 180 is disconnected from the divider 176, the pneumaticisolator may automatically seal the opening in the divider 176, to whichthe disconnected conduit was connected. In this manner, thedisconnection of a conduit may not impact the other fluid flow paths.For example, the fluid flow path between the divider 176 and theremaining connected material collector 36 (e.g., with the other conduit)may not be impacted. Quick connect-disconnect connections and/orpneumatic isolators may be used to facilitate the pneumaticreconfiguration of any of the fluidic topologies illustrated throughoutthis application.

Applicant has recognized that environments similar to the exampleillustrated in FIG. 1 may need to be filled with desired material afterthe undesired material 16 has been removed. For example, the reactionvessel 14 may need to be refilled with catalyst or other materials afterundesired material 16 is removed. Assemblies and methods in accordancewith embodiments disclosed herein may provide for rapid deployment ofdesired materials in certain environments.

To provide for the rapid deployment of desired materials, in someembodiments, for example, as shown in FIG. 16 , a material extractionassembly 10 includes receiver 186. The receiver 186 may be a physicaldevice to rapidly deploy desired materials into the reaction vessel 14.The receiver 186 may be positioned toward an upper portion of thereaction vessel 14 and may receive desired materials. When received, thereceiver 186 may separate the desired material from a high pressurefluid flow in which the desired material is entrained and used to carryit to the receiver 186. The high pressure fluid flow may be directed tothe receiver 186 with a conduit 188. The high pressure fluid flow may begenerated by, for example, the one or more fluid sources 42 (e.g., oneor more mobile fluid supplies).

The receiver 186 may be pneumatically connected to a conduit 190 throughwhich the desired material is deployed to various locations in thereaction vessel 14. For example, desired material in the receiver 186may be pumped, gravity fed, or otherwise directed through the conduit190 into the reaction vessel 14. The desired material 192 may bedeployed in one or more locations within the reaction vessel 14. Theconduit 190 may include various sections which may be removed asdifferent zones are filled with desired material. By doing so, thelength of the conduit 190 may be adjusted to match each of the zones (orthe heights of structures in the respective zones).

The desired material may take different forms. For example, in someembodiments, the desired material may be a catalyst material that waspreviously removed from the reaction vessel 14. The desired material maybe replacement catalyst or any other types of material without departingfrom embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the desiredmaterial may be a different type of material that was not previously inthe reaction vessel 14.

Some embodiments of the material extraction assembly 10 include a numberof components configured to cooperatively operate to provide itsfunctionality. To orchestrate the operation of these components, in someembodiments, the operation of the material extraction assembly 10 may becoordinated in an at least partially automated manner. For example, asexplained herein, any of the components of the material extractionassembly 10 may include a supervisory controller 81, which maycoordinate operation of one or more of the components.

As shown in FIG. 17 , the material extraction assembly 10 may includeone or more supervisory controllers 81, which may be in communicationwith one or more of the drive controller 78 associated with operation ofone or more material collectors, a vacuum source controller 136associated with operation of one or more vacuum sources, and/or achamber controller 168 associated with controlling operation of one ormore sound attenuating chambers 40. The aforementioned supervisorycontroller(s) and other controllers may be in communication with oneanother via a network 194. The network 194 may include one or more wiredand/or wireless networks through which the supervisory controller(s) 81and other controllers may communicate.

FIG. 18A, FIG. 18B, FIG. 18C, and FIG. 18D are a block diagram of anexample method 1800 for extracting material from a source of thematerial, for example, any one or more of the example sources ofmaterial described herein, as well as others. The example method 1800 isillustrated as a collection of blocks in a logical flow graph, whichrepresent a sequence of operations. In some embodiments of the method1800, one or more of the blocks may be manually and/or automaticallyexecuted. In the context of software, where applicable, the blocks mayrepresent computer-executable instructions stored on one or morecomputer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, perform the recited operations. Generally,computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, and the like that perform particularfunctions or implement particular data types. The order in which theoperations are described is not intended to be construed as alimitation, and any number of the described blocks can be combined inany order and/or in parallel to implement the method.

FIG. 18A through FIG. 18D are a block diagram of an example method 1800for extracting material from a source of the material, according toembodiments of the disclosure. At 1802 (see FIG. 18A), the examplemethod 1800 may include operating a fluid source to supply pressurizedfluid, for example, as described herein.

The example method 1800, at 1804, may include supplying the pressurizedfluid to a vacuum source configured to generate a vacuum flow using thepressurized fluid, for example, as described herein. In someembodiments, one or more conduits may be provided between one or morefluid sources and the vacuum generator to supply pressurized fluid fromthe one or more fluid sources to the vacuum source, for example, asdescribed herein.

At 1806, the example method 1800, may include generating a vacuum flowvia the vacuum source, for example, as described herein. For example,the vacuum source may include a plurality of vacuum generatorsconfigured to use the pressurized fluid to generate the vacuum flow. Insome embodiments, the vacuum source may include two or more, three ormore, or four of more vacuum generators. In some embodiments, one ormore of the vacuum generators may include a venturi mechanism configuredto use the pressurized fluid flow the generate the vacuum flow.

The example method 1800, at 1808, may include determining whether avacuum pressure of the vacuum flow is sufficient to extract the materialfrom the source of the material, for example, as described herein. Forexample, pressure sensors and/or flow rate sensors may be providedupstream and/or downstream of the vacuum source, and a controller mayreceive sensor signals from the sensors and determine whether the vacuumpressure is sufficient. In some embodiments, the controller may beconfigured to compare the pressure and/or flow rate determined based atleast in part of the sensor signals and compare the pressure and/or flowrate to pressure and/or flow rate information stored in memory (e.g.,via a look-up table) for different types of materials that may beextracted. In some embodiments, an operator of the system may input, forexample, via a user input device, the type of material being extracted,and the controller may be configured to determine the pressure and/orflow rate appropriate for extracting the type of material input by theoperator. In some embodiments, the controller may be configured toautomatically determine the type of material being extracted, forexample, via infra-red sensors, image sensors, optical sensors, and/orlaser sensors, such as LIDAR, and analytical models, such as, forexample, machine-learning-trained analytical models. Other ways ofdetermining sufficient vacuum pressure are contemplated.

If, at 1808, is determined that the vacuum pressure is not sufficient toextract the material, at 1810, the example method 1800 may includeincreasing one or more of a flow rate of the pressurized fluid suppliedto the vacuum source or increasing the pressure of the pressurized fluidsupplied to the vacuum source.

Thereafter, the example method 1800 may include returning to 1808 todetermine whether the vacuum pressure of the vacuum flow is sufficientto extract the material from the source of the material.

If, at 1808, it is determined that the vacuum pressure of the vacuumflow is sufficient to extract the material from the source of thematerial, at 1812, the example method 1800 may include determiningwhether the vacuum pressure is too high to efficiently extract thematerial from the source of material. This may be performed in a mannerat least similar to the example manner described with respect to 1808.

If, at 1812, it is determined that the vacuum pressure is too high, at1814, the example method 1800 may include reducing one or more of a flowrate of the pressurized fluid supplied to the vacuum source or reducingthe pressure of the pressurized fluid supplied to the vacuum source.

Thereafter, the example method 1800 may include returning to 1808 todetermine whether the vacuum pressure of the vacuum flow is sufficientto extract the material from the source of the material.

If, at 1812, it is determined that the vacuum pressure is not too high,at 1816, the example method 1800 may include drawing material from thematerial source into a material collector via the vacuum flow to collectextracted material from the material source, for example, as describedherein. One or more manifolds and/or one or more conduits may beprovided between the source of the material and the material collectorto convey the extracted material to the material collector, for example,as described herein.

At 1818 (see FIG. 18B), the example method 1800 may include collecting amajor portion of the extracted material in the material collector, forexample, as described herein.

The example method 1800, at 1820, may include determining whether thematerial collector has reached a first threshold amount of extractedmaterial, for example, as described herein. In some embodiments, one ormore sensors may be provided to generate signals indicative of theamount of extracted material in the material collector, for example, asdescribed herein. In some examples, a controller may be provided andconfigured to receive the sensor signals, and based at least in part onthe sensor signals, determine whether the first threshold has been met.

If, at 1820, it is determined that the material collector has reachedthe first threshold amount, at 1822, the example method 1800, mayinclude operating a drive unit connected to a device in the materialcollector configured to distribute the extracted material collected inthe material collector throughout the material collector, for example,as described herein. For example, the drive unit may be connected to anauger configured to rotate via the drive unit and redistribute at leastsome of the extracted material within the material collector, forexample, as described herein.

At 1824, the example method 1800 may include determining whether thematerial collector has reached a second threshold amount of extractedmaterial approaching maximum capacity of the material collector, forexample, as described herein. In some embodiments, as noted above at1820, one or more sensors may be provided to generate signals indicativeof the amount of extracted material in the material collector. In someexamples, a controller may be provided and configured to receive thesensor signals, and based at least in part on the sensor signals,determine whether the second threshold has been met.

If, at 1824, it is determined that the material collector has reachedthe second threshold amount of extracted material, at 1826, the examplemethod 1800 may include causing the vacuum flow through the materialcollector to stop. This may include, for example, closing a valve in theconduit between the source of the material and the material collector toprevent the extracted material from continuing to flow into the materialcollector. In some embodiments, this may include ceasing the method 1800until, for example, the material collector can be emptied or the conduitcan be connected to a different material collector. In some embodiments,the conduit connecting the material collector to the source of thematerial may be disconnected from the source of the material and anothermaterial collector may be connected to the conduit. Thereafter, themethod 1800 may be restarted. The full material collector may be takento a location for disposal of the extracted material, recycling of theextracted material, or remediation of the extracted material.

If, at 1824, it is determined that the material collector has notreached the second threshold amount of extracted material approachingmaximum capacity of the material collector, at 1828, the example method1800 may include conveying a minor portion of the extracted material toa sound attenuation chamber via the vacuum flow, for example, asdescribed herein. For example, a conduit may be provided between thematerial collector and the sound attenuation chamber providing a flowpath for the vacuum flow to convey the minor portion of the material(e.g., material not trapped in the material collector) to the soundattenuation chamber. In some embodiments, the sound attenuation chamberof the vacuum source may be connected to one another (e.g., directlyconnected to one another), for example, to form a unitary vacuum andattenuation module, for example, as described herein.

At 1830, the example method 1800 may include attenuating, via the soundattenuation chamber, sound generated by the vacuum flow and/orgeneration of the vacuum flow, for example, as described herein.

The example method 1800, at 1832, may include passing the vacuum flowincluding the minor portion of the extracted material through filtermedia associated with the sound attenuation chamber (e.g., at leastpartially enclosed within the sound attenuation chamber) to capture atleast a portion of the minor portion of extracted material in the filtermedia, for example, as described herein.

At 1834 (see FIG. 18C), the example method 1800 may include determiningwhether flow of the vacuum flow through the filter media may be at leastpartially impeded by build-up of the extracted material in the filtermedia. This may be determined, for example, by determining whether apressure change associated with the vacuum flow between opposite sidesof the filter media has reached a threshold level indicative of thevacuum flow through the filter media being at least a partially impededby a build-up of the extracted material in the filter media. Other waysof determining whether the vacuum flow through the filter media is atleast a partially impeded by a build-up of the extracted material in thefilter media are contemplated.

If, at 1834, it is determined that the flow of the vacuum flow throughthe filter media may be at least partially impeded by build-up of theextracted material in the filter media, at 1836, the example method 1800may include generating jets of fluid flow directed toward the filtermedia to dislodge at least a portion of the extracted material from thefilter media, for example, as described herein. In some embodiments, theexample method 1800 may include periodically generating the jets offluid flow directed toward the filter media instead of, or in additionto, determining whether flow of the vacuum flow through the filter mediamay be at least partially impeded by build-up of the extracted materialin the filter media. For example, the jets of fluid flow directed towardthe filter media may be initiated based on parameters, such as, forexample, the amount of time the material extraction assembly has beenoperating, the pressure level and/or flow rate of the vacuum flow,and/or the type of material being extracted from the material source.One of more of these parameters may be determined based at least in parton, for example, sensor signals, a controller, and/or operator input.

At 1838, the example method 1800 may include collecting the dislodgedextracted material in an attenuation housing of the sound attenuationchamber, for example, as described herein. For example, the jets offluid, when generated may cause at least a portion of the extractedmaterial trapped in the filter media to fall from the filter media intothe attenuation housing for collection.

The example method 1800, at 1840, may include determining whether theattenuation housing has reached a first threshold amount of extractedmaterial, for example, as described herein. This may be performed in amanner at least similar to the example manner described with respect to1820 above.

If, at 1840, it is determined that the attenuation housing has reachedthe first threshold amount, at 1842, the example method 1800, mayinclude operating a drive unit connected to a device in the attenuationhousing configured to distribute the extracted material collected in theattenuation housing throughout the attenuation housing, for example, asdescribed herein. For example, this may be performed in a manner atleast similar to the manner described with respect to 1822 above.

At 1844, the example method 1800 may include determining whether theattenuation housing has reached a second threshold amount of extractedmaterial, for example, as described herein. This may be performed in amanner at least similar to the example manner described with respect to1824 above.

If, at 1844, it is determined that the second threshold has beenreached, the example method 1800 may include, at 1846 (see FIG. 18D),conveying at least a portion of the extracted material collected in theattenuation housing to a material collector, for example, as describedherein. For example, a discharge valve in the attenuation housing may beopened, and the vacuum flow may be used to convey at least a portion ofthe extracted material collected in the attenuation housing to amaterial collector connected to the attenuation housing via a conduit.

At 1848, the example method 1800 may include returning to, for example,1808 and continuing the material extraction operation until it has beencompleted.

It should be appreciated that at least some subject matter presentedherein may be implemented as a computer process, a computer-controlledapparatus, a computing system, or an article of manufacture, such as acomputer-readable storage medium. While the subject matter describedherein is presented in the general context of program modules thatexecute on one or more computing devices, those skilled in the art willrecognize that other implementations may be performed in combinationwith other types of program modules. Generally, program modules includeroutines, programs, components, data structures, and other types ofstructures that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that aspects of thesubject matter described herein may be practiced on or in conjunctionwith other computer system configurations beyond those described herein,including multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, handheldcomputers, mobile telephone devices, tablet computing devices,special-purposed hardware devices, network appliances, and the like

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of an example material extractioncontroller 1900 configured to at least partially control a materialextraction assembly 10, according to embodiments of the disclosure. Thematerial extraction controller 200 may include one or more of thecontrollers described herein. The material extraction controller 200 mayinclude one or more processor(s) 1900 configured to execute certainoperational aspects associated with implementing certain systems andmethods described herein. The processor(s) 1900 may communicate with amemory 1902. The processor(s) 1900 may be implemented and operated usingappropriate hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof.Software or firmware implementations may include computer-executable ormachine-executable instructions written in any suitable programminglanguage to perform the various functions described. In some examples,instructions associated with a function block language may be stored inthe memory 1902 and executed by the processor(s) 1900.

The memory 1902 may be used to store program instructions that areloadable and executable by the processor(s) 1900, as well as to storedata generated during the execution of these programs. Depending on theconfiguration and type of the material extraction controller 200, thememory 1902 may be volatile (such as random access memory (RAM)) and/ornon-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.). Insome examples, the memory devices may include additional removablestorage 1904 and/or non-removable storage 1906 including, but notlimited to, magnetic storage, optical disks, and/or tape storage. Thedisk drives and their associated computer-readable media may providenon-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, and other data for the devices. In someimplementations, the memory 1902 may include multiple different types ofmemory, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM), or ROM.

The memory 1902, the removable storage 1904, and the non-removablestorage 1906 are all examples of computer-readable storage media. Forexample, computer-readable storage media may include volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information, such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data. Additional types of computer storage media that may bepresent may include, but are not limited to, programmable random accessmemory (PRAM), SRAM, DRAM, RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or other memory technology,compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile discs (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium, whichmay be used to store the desired information and which may be accessedby the devices. Combinations of any of the above should also be includedwithin the scope of computer-readable media.

The material extraction controller 200 may also include one or morecommunication connection(s) 1908 that may facilitate a control device(not shown) to communicate with devices or equipment capable ofcommunicating with the material extraction controller 200. The materialextraction controller 200 may also include a computer system (notshown). Connections may also be established via various datacommunication channels or ports, such as USB or COM ports to receivecables connecting the material extraction controller 200 to variousother devices on a network. In some examples, the material extractioncontroller 200 may include Ethernet drivers that enable the materialextraction controller 200 to communicate with other devices on thenetwork. According to various examples, communication connections 1908may be established via a wired and/or wireless connection on thenetwork.

The material extraction controller 200 may also include one or moreinput devices 1910, such as a keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device,gesture input device, and/or touch input device. It may further includeone or more output devices 1912, such as a display, printer, and/orspeakers. In some examples, computer-readable communication media mayinclude computer-readable instructions, program modules, or other datatransmitted within a data signal, such as a carrier wave or othertransmission. As used herein, however, computer-readable storage mediamay not include computer-readable communication media.

Turning to the contents of the memory 1902, the memory 1902 may include,but is not limited to, an operating system (OS) 1914 and one or moreapplication programs or services for implementing the features andembodiments disclosed herein. Such applications or services may includeremote terminal units 1916 for executing certain systems and methods forcontrolling operation of the material extraction assembly 10 (e.g.,semi- or full-autonomously controlling operation of the materialextraction assembly 10), for example, upon receipt of one or morecontrol signals generated by the material extraction controller 200. Insome embodiments, one or more remote terminal unit(s) 1916 may belocated on one or more components of the material extraction assembly10. The remote terminal unit(s) 1916 may reside in the memory 1902 ormay be independent of the material extraction controller 200. In someexamples, the remote terminal unit(s) 1916 may be implemented bysoftware that may be provided in configurable control block language andmay be stored in non-volatile memory. When executed by the processor(s)1900, the remote terminal unit(s) 1916 may implement the variousfunctionalities and features associated with the material extractioncontroller 200 described herein.

As desired, embodiments of the disclosure may include a materialextraction controller 200 with more or fewer components than areillustrated in FIG. 19 . Additionally, certain components of the examplematerial extraction controller 200 shown in FIG. 19 may be combined invarious embodiments of the disclosure. The material extractioncontroller 200 of FIG. 19 is provided by way of example only.

References are made to block diagrams of systems, methods, apparatuses,and computer program products according to example embodiments. It willbe understood that at least some of the blocks of the block diagrams,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams, may be implemented atleast partially by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, special purpose hardware-based computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus create means for implementing thefunctionality of at least some of the blocks of the block diagrams, orcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams discussed.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable memory that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meansthat implement the function specified in the block or blocks. Thecomputer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide task, acts, actions, or operations for implementingthe functions specified in the block or blocks.

One or more components of the systems and one or more elements of themethods described herein may be implemented through an applicationprogram running on an operating system of a computer. They may also bepracticed with other computer system configurations, including hand-helddevices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, mini-computers, mainframe computers, and the like.

Application programs that are components of the systems and methodsdescribed herein may include routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc. that may implement certain abstract data types andperform certain tasks or actions. In a distributed computingenvironment, the application program (in whole or in part) may belocated in local memory or in other storage. In addition, oralternatively, the application program (in whole or in part) may belocated in remote memory or in storage to allow for circumstances wheretasks can be performed by remote processing devices linked through acommunications network.

Having now described some illustrative embodiments of the disclosure, itshould be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing ismerely illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way ofexample only. Numerous modifications and other embodiments are withinthe scope of one of ordinary skill in the art and are contemplated asfalling within the scope of the disclosure. In particular, although manyof the examples presented herein involve specific combinations of methodacts or system elements, it should be understood that those acts andthose elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the sameobjectives. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that theparameters and configurations described herein are exemplary and thatactual parameters and/or configurations will depend on the specificapplication in which the systems, methods, and/or aspects or techniquesof the disclosure are used. Those skilled in the art should alsorecognize or be able to ascertain, using no more than routineexperimentation, equivalents to the specific embodiments of thedisclosure. It is, therefore, to be understood that the embodimentsdescribed herein are presented by way of example only and that, withinthe scope of any appended claims and equivalents thereto, the disclosuremay be practiced other than as specifically described.

This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority to and thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/367,570, filed Jul. 1,2022, titled “HIGH VOLUME INDUSTRIAL VACUUM ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS,”U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/367,219, filed Jun. 29, 2022, titled“RECEIVER, ASSEMBLIES, AND METHODS FOR LOADING AND EXTRACTING PRODUCT INELEVATED TOWER,” U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/367,218, filed Jun.29, 2022, titled “ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS FOR MATERIAL EXTRACTION FROMRETENTION COLLECTIONS,” U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/364,630,filed May 13, 2022, titled “ASSEMBLIES, APPARATUSES, SYSTEMS, ANDMETHODS FOR MATERIAL EXTRACTION AND CONVEYANCE,” U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 63/264,101, filed Nov. 16, 2021, titled “ASSEMBLIES ANDMETHODS FOR MATERIAL EXTRACTION,” U.S. Provisional Application No.63/264,015, filed Nov. 12, 2021, titled “ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS FORMATERIAL EXTRACTION,” U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/203,147, filedJul. 9, 2021, titled “SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR INDUSTRIAL TOWERWASTE EXTRACTION,” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/203,108,filed Jul. 8, 2021, titled “SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR INDUSTRIALTOWER WASTE EXTRACTION,” the disclosures of all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Furthermore, the scope of the present disclosure shall be construed tocover various modifications, combinations, additions, alterations, etc.,above and to the above-described embodiments, which shall be consideredto be within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, various featuresand characteristics as discussed herein may be selectively interchangedand applied to other illustrated and non-illustrated embodiment, andnumerous variations, modifications, and additions further may be madethereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A material extraction assembly to enhanceextraction of material from a source of the material, the materialextraction assembly comprising: a manifold connected to the source ofthe material and positioned to provide a flow path to convey extractedmaterial from the source of the material; a material collector connectedto the manifold and having an interior collector volume positioned forreceipt of at least a portion of the extracted material; a vacuum sourcecomprising a plurality of vacuum generators, each of the plurality ofvacuum generators being positioned to cause a vacuum flow between thesource of the material and the material collector; and a soundattenuation chamber connected to the vacuum source, the soundattenuation chamber comprising an attenuation housing at least partiallydefining a chamber interior volume positioned to receive at least aportion of the vacuum flow from the vacuum source and attenuate soundgenerated by the vacuum source.
 2. The material extraction assembly ofclaim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of vacuum generatorscomprises a venturi mechanism configured to receive pressurized fluidfrom a fluid source of pressurized fluid and use a venturi effect togenerate the vacuum flow between the source of the material and thevacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly.
 3. The materialextraction assembly of claim 1, wherein the vacuum source and the soundattenuation chamber are connected to one another to form a unifiedvacuum and attenuation module.
 4. The material extraction assembly ofclaim 3, wherein the unified vacuum and attenuation module comprises achassis supporting the vacuum source and the sound attenuation chamberand configured to be transported between geographical locations.
 5. Thematerial extraction assembly of claim 1, wherein the vacuum source isconnected to the material collector, the material collector beingconfigured such that the vacuum flow passes through the materialcollector, drawing the extracted material into the material collector.6. The material extraction assembly of claim 5, wherein the vacuumsource is configured to draw a minor portion of the extracted materialinto the sound attenuation chamber and deposit a major portion of theextracted material in the material collector.
 7. The material extractionassembly of claim 1, further comprising a fluid source positioned toprovide pressurized fluid to the vacuum source.
 8. The materialextraction assembly of claim 7, wherein one or more of the plurality ofvacuum generators comprises a venturi mechanism configured to receivepressurized fluid from the fluid source and use a venturi effect togenerate the vacuum flow between the source of the material and thematerial collector.
 9. The material extraction assembly of claim 1,wherein: the material collector comprises a first material collector;the vacuum source comprises a first vacuum source; and the materialextraction assembly further comprises: a second material collectorconnected to the manifold; and a second vacuum source connected to thesecond material collector; and the first vacuum source, the secondvacuum source, the first material collector, and the second materialcollector increase an extraction rate of the material from the source ofthe material.
 10. The material extraction assembly of claim 1, whereinone or more of the plurality of vacuum generators comprises one or moreof: one or more fluid supply ports configured to receive pressurizedfluid from the fluid source of pressurized fluid; a vacuum port throughwhich the vacuum flow is received; or an exhaust port, through which thefluid flow used to generate the vacuum flow and a portion of thematerial drawn into the vacuum port with the vacuum flow are exhaustedfrom the one or more vacuum generators.
 11. The material extractionassembly of claim 10, wherein the one or more fluid supply portscomprise a plurality of fluid supply ports, and each of the fluid supplyports is configured to receive pressurized fluid from a fluid source ofpressurized fluid, and wherein two or more of the fluid supply ports areconfigured to be connected to separate fluid sources of pressurizedfluid.
 12. The material extraction assembly of claim 10, furthercomprising one or more fluid supply control valves configured to controlfluid flow through one or more of the fluid supply ports.
 13. Thematerial extraction assembly of claim 10, further comprising one or moreof: (i) one or more fluid supply control valves configured to controlfluid flow through one or more of the fluid supply ports; (ii) a vacuumcontrol valve configured to control fluid flow through the vacuum port;or (iii) an exhaust control valve configured to control fluid flowthrough the exhaust port; and a vacuum source controller configured tocontrol one or more of: (i) the one or more fluid supply control valves;(ii) the vacuum control valve; or (iii) the exhaust control valve tocontrol a vacuum pressure generated by the vacuum source.
 14. Thematerial extraction assembly of claim 13, wherein the vacuum sourcecontroller is configured control the vacuum pressure at least partiallyresponsive to one or more of: an operator setting; or a sensor signalindicative of one or more of: the vacuum pressure; a vacuum flow rate;or a parameter related to the material extracted from the source of thematerial.
 15. The material extraction assembly of claim 10, wherein thematerial collector comprises one or more material collectors, and thevacuum port is connected to the one or more material collectors throughwhich the vacuum flow passes, drawing the material from the source ofthe material into the one or more material collectors.
 16. A vacuumgeneration and sound attenuation assembly to enhance extraction ofmaterial from a source of the material, the vacuum generation and soundattenuation assembly comprising: a vacuum source comprising a pluralityof vacuum generators, each of the plurality of vacuum generators beingpositioned to cause a vacuum flow between the source of the material andthe vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly; and a soundattenuation chamber connected to the vacuum source, the soundattenuation chamber comprising an attenuation housing at least partiallydefining a chamber interior volume being positioned to receive at leasta portion of the vacuum flow from the vacuum source and attenuate soundgenerated by the vacuum source.
 17. The vacuum generation and soundattenuation assembly of claim 16, wherein one or more of the pluralityof vacuum generators comprises a venturi mechanism configured to receivepressurized fluid from a fluid source of pressurized fluid and use aventuri effect to generate the vacuum flow between the source of thematerial and the vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly. 18.The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly of claim 16,wherein the vacuum source and the sound attenuation chamber areconnected to one another to form a unified vacuum and attenuationmodule.
 19. The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly ofclaim 16, wherein the vacuum source is configured to be connected to amaterial collector through which the vacuum flow passes, drawing thematerial from the source of the material into the material collector,and the vacuum source is configured to draw a minor portion of thematerial into the sound attenuation chamber and deposit a major portionof the material in the material collector.
 20. The vacuum generation andsound attenuation assembly of claim 16, wherein one or more of theplurality of vacuum generators comprises one or more of: one or morefluid supply ports configured to receive pressurized fluid from a fluidsource of pressurized fluid; a vacuum port through which the vacuum flowis received; or an exhaust port, through which the fluid flow used togenerate the vacuum flow and a portion of the material drawn into thevacuum port with the vacuum flow are exhausted from the one or morevacuum generators.
 21. The vacuum generation and sound attenuationassembly of claim 20, wherein the exhaust port provides fluid flow fromthe one or more vacuum generators to the sound attenuation chamber. 22.The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly of claim 20,further comprising one or more fluid supply control valves configured tocontrol fluid flow through one or more of the fluid supply ports. 23.The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly of claim 20,further comprising one or more of: one or more fluid supply controlvalves configured to control fluid flow through one or more of the fluidsupply ports; a vacuum control valve configured to control fluid flowthrough the vacuum port; or an exhaust control valve configured tocontrol fluid flow through the exhaust port.
 24. The vacuum generationand sound attenuation assembly of claim 23, further comprising a vacuumsource controller configured to control one or more of: the one or morefluid supply control valves; the vacuum control valve; or the exhaustcontrol valve to control a vacuum pressure generated by the vacuumsource, wherein the vacuum source controller is configured control thevacuum pressure at least partially responsive to one or more of: anoperator setting; or a sensor signal indicative of one or more of: thevacuum pressure; a vacuum flow rate; or a parameter related to thematerial extracted from the source of the material.
 25. The vacuumgeneration and sound attenuation assembly of claim 20, wherein thevacuum port is configured to be connected to one or more materialcollectors through which the vacuum flow passes, drawing the materialfrom the source of the material into the one or more materialcollectors.
 26. The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly ofclaim 16, wherein the plurality of vacuum generators comprises two ormore vacuum generators, the two or more vacuum generators beingconfigured to operate in parallel to enhance vacuum pressure generatedby the vacuum source.
 27. The vacuum generation and sound attenuationassembly of claim 16, further comprising a vacuum housing at leastpartially enclosing one or more of the plurality of vacuum generators.28. The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly of claim 27,further comprising a vacuum control valve at least partially enclosed bythe vacuum housing and being configured to control fluid flow throughthe vacuum port.
 29. The vacuum generation and sound attenuationassembly of claim 28, further comprising a vacuum valve controlinterface configured to control operation of the vacuum control valveremotely from the vacuum control valve.
 30. The vacuum generation andsound attenuation assembly of claim 16, wherein the sound attenuationchamber is configured to reduce sound emitted during operation of thevacuum source by an amount ranging from ten percent to forty percent.31. The vacuum generation and sound attenuation assembly of claim 16,wherein the attenuation housing comprises one or more of: one or morechamber inlet ports configured to receive the vacuum flow from thevacuum source, the vacuum flow including a portion of the materialextracted from the source of the material; one or more chamber exhaustports configured to reduce backpressure on flow of the vacuum flow intothe attenuation chamber; or one or more chamber discharge portsconfigured to facilitate removal of a portion the material extractedfrom the source of the material from the chamber interior volume of thesound attenuation chamber.
 32. The vacuum generation and soundattenuation assembly of claim 31, wherein the one or more chamberexhaust ports have a cross-sectional area greater than a cross-sectionalarea of the one or more chamber inlet ports.
 33. The vacuum generationand sound attenuation assembly of claim 16, further comprising filtermedia at least partially enclosed in the sound attenuation chamber andconfigured to filter a portion of the material extracted from the sourceof the material from the vacuum flow passing through the soundattenuation chamber.
 34. The vacuum generation and sound attenuationassembly of claim 33, further comprising one or more jet generatorspositioned relative to the sound attenuation chamber to generate jets offluid flow directed toward the filter media to at least partiallymaintain filtration capacity of the filter media.
 35. The vacuumgeneration and sound attenuation assembly of claim 16, wherein theattenuation housing comprises one or more chamber discharge portsconfigured to facilitate removal of a portion of the material extractedfrom the source of the material from the chamber interior volume of thesound attenuation chamber, the one or more chamber discharge ports beingconnected to a material collector configured to receive materialextracted from the source of the material.
 36. The vacuum generation andsound attenuation assembly of claim 16, further comprising: one or morechamber sensors configured to generate signals indicative of one or moreof filtration capacity of filter media at least partially enclosed inthe sound attenuation chamber, a level of the material extracted fromthe source of the material in the chamber interior volume of the soundattenuation chamber, or a flow rate of the material out of a dischargeport; and a chamber controller in communication with one or more of adischarge port control valve actuator, one or more jet generators, andthe one or more chamber sensors, the chamber controller being configuredto: receive one or more sensor signals from the one or more chambersensors; and based at least in part on the one or more sensor signals,control operation of one or more of the discharge port control valveactuator or the one or more jet generators to one or more of facilitateflow of fluid through the filter media or prevent the chamber interiorvolume from being overfilled with the material.
 37. A method forextracting material from a source of the material, the methodcomprising: supplying a pressurized fluid to a plurality of vacuumgenerators; generating, via the plurality of vacuum generators using thepressurized fluid, a vacuum flow; associating a manifold with the sourceof the material, the manifold providing a flow path for the vacuum flow;extracting material from the material source via the vacuum flow throughthe manifold to a material collector through which the vacuum flowpasses, depositing at least a portion of the extracted material in thematerial collector; and passing the vacuum flow into a sound attenuationchamber to reduce a sound level generated by one or more of the vacuumflow or generating the vacuum flow.
 38. The method of claim 37, whereingenerating, using the pressurized fluid, the vacuum flow comprisesreceiving pressurized fluid from a fluid source of pressurized fluid viaone or more fluid supply ports associated with the plurality of vacuumgenerators.
 39. The method of claim 37, wherein generating, via theplurality of vacuum generators using the pressurized fluid, a vacuumflow comprises operating the plurality of vacuum generators in parallelto enhance vacuum pressure of the vacuum flow.
 40. The method of claim37, further comprising removing a portion of the material extracted fromthe source of the material from the sound attenuation chamber andconveying the portion of the material extracted from the soundattenuation chamber to a material collector configured to receivematerial extracted from the source of the material.